Molecular mechanisms of memory formation

The Peters Lab is interested in how memories are formed by the strengthening of connections between neurons at synapses. This process is called long-term potentiation (LTP), and LTP is mediated by an increase in the number of AMPA receptors (a type of neurotransmitter receptor) located at the synapse. Delivering AMPA receptors involves a complex molecular machine (see figure). The Peters Lab aims to determine the arrangement of proteins within this molecular machine and describe how the machinery is regulated. The lab uses single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, computational structural biology, an in vitro fusion assay, and cell imaging approaches to address this question. A better understanding of LTP will help us understand how and why LTP breaks down in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Students in the lab gain experience in molecular cloning, protein purification, introductory computational structural biology, and confocal and electron microscopy.