Wade Regehr

Wade Regehr, PhD

Bullard Professor of Neurobiology

My long-term goal is to determine how presynaptic neurons influence the firing of their targets and to understand how physiologically significant computations are performed by synapses. Fast chemical synapses are the primary means of communication between neurons. They are constantly modified by a variety of mechanisms in ways that are vital to memory formation and normal brain function. With calcium implicated in almost every aspect of transmission, my focus has been on the many basic questions regarding calcium control of synaptic strength in the mammalian brain.

It is clear that many calcium dependent processes work together to control the release of neurotransmitter. These include synaptic facilitation, chemical messenger mediated release, depression and delayed release of neurotransmitter. My strategy has been to examine each of these mechanisms in isolation and then to determine how they interact to control synapses during realistic spike trains. Most of the studies have been performed on synapses in the cerebellum, which are well described anatomically, accessible and relatively easy to study. To explore the physiological relevance of various aspects of synaptic transmission we have recently started to study the synapse between retinal ganglion cells and thalamic relay neurons. In future years the primary experimental approaches will remain imaging of ionic levels within cells and electrophysiological measurements. It is anticipated, however, that these approaches will be augmented by 2-photon imaging with molecularly engineered indicators based on GFP.

regehr researchExperimental arrangement for monitoring presynaptic calcium. A climbing fiber was labeled with a green calcium indicator and a Purkinje cell was labeled with a red dye.

"With calcium implicated in almost every aspect of transmission, my focus has been on the many basic questions regarding calcium control of synaptic strength in the mammalian brain."

Publications View
A Purkinje cell to parabrachial nucleus pathway enables broad cerebellar influence over the forebrain.
Authors: Authors: Chen CH, Newman LN, Stark AP, Bond KE, Zhang D, Nardone S, Vanderburg CR, Nadaf NM, Yao Z, Mutume K, Flaquer I, Lowell BB, Macosko EZ, Regehr WG.
Nat Neurosci
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Cerebellar circuits for disinhibition and synchronous inhibition.
Authors: Authors: Lackey EP, Moreira L, Norton A, Hemelt ME, Osorno T, Nguyen TM, Macosko EZ, Lee WA, Hull CA, Regehr WG.
bioRxiv
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A continuum of response properties across the population of Unipolar Brush Cells in the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus.
Authors: Authors: Huson V, Newman LN, Regehr WG.
J Neurosci
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Cerebellar granule cell signaling is indispensable for normal motor performance.
Authors: Authors: Lee JH, Khan MM, Stark AP, Seo S, Norton A, Yao Z, Chen CH, Regehr WG.
Cell Rep
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Implications of variable synaptic weights for rate and temporal coding of cerebellar outputs.
Authors: Authors: Wu S, Wardak A, Khan MM, Chen CH, Regehr WG.
bioRxiv
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Publisher Correction: Structured cerebellar connectivity supports resilient pattern separation.
Authors: Authors: Nguyen TM, Thomas LA, Rhoades JL, Ricchi I, Yuan XC, Sheridan A, Hildebrand DGC, Funke J, Regehr WG, Lee WA.
Nature
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Candelabrum cells are ubiquitous cerebellar cortex interneurons with specialized circuit properties.
Authors: Authors: Osorno T, Rudolph S, Nguyen T, Kozareva V, Nadaf NM, Norton A, Macosko EZ, Lee WA, Regehr WG.
Nat Neurosci
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Author Correction: A transcriptomic atlas of mouse cerebellar cortex comprehensively defines cell types.
Authors: Authors: Kozareva V, Martin C, Osorno T, Rudolph S, Guo C, Vanderburg C, Nadaf N, Regev A, Regehr WG, Macosko E.
Nature
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Graded heterogeneity of metabotropic signaling underlies a continuum of cell-intrinsic temporal responses in unipolar brush cells.
Authors: Authors: Guo C, Huson V, Macosko EZ, Regehr WG.
Nat Commun
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A transcriptomic atlas of mouse cerebellar cortex comprehensively defines cell types.
Authors: Authors: Kozareva V, Martin C, Osorno T, Rudolph S, Guo C, Vanderburg C, Nadaf N, Regev A, Regehr WG, Macosko E.
Nature
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