NIH Director's Seminar Series: Molecular regulation of synaptic inhibition

Friday, July 28, 2023, 12:00 to 1:00pm

The July lecture in the NIH Director's Seminar Series will be presented by IRP senior investigator Wei Lu, Ph.D.

The vast majority of fast inhibitory transmission in the brain is mediated by GABA acting on GABA_A receptors (GABA_ARs), which provides inhibitory balance to excitatory drive and controls neuronal output. Dysregulations of GABA_ARs and inhibitory synapses have been implicated in a variety of brain disorders, such as epilepsy, anxiety and depression. Pharmacological intervention for these disorders relies on several drug classes that target GABA_ARs, such as benzodiazepines and neurosteroids.

The goal of Dr. Lu's laboratory is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the regulation of GABA_ARs and inhibitory synapses in health and disease. In this lecture, Dr. Lu will discuss the regulation of the GABA_AR and its psychopharmacology by newly discovered transmembrane auxiliary subunits, and the therapeutic potential of signaling pathways at inhibitory synapses in brain disorders.