Overview
Welcome to the Dickman Lab at USC!! We are interested in synapse development, function, and plasticity in general, and in particular the mechanisms that keep nervous system function remarkably stable despite the many challenges that occur throughout life and into old age. These include the orchestration and tuning of complex processes in the brain, including development, growth, remodeling, potentiation, depression, and aging of the mature nervous system. We use the premier genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster, and a combination of genetic, electrophysiological, and imaging approaches to discover the molecular, cellular, and synaptic mechanisms that achieve and maintain the stability of neural function. We also hope to determine how dysfunction in these processes contributes to the etiology of cognitive, neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric diseases.
- Dion K Dickman
- USC Park Campus
- Hedco Neuroscience Building
- Los Angeles, CA
- Email: dickman@usc.edu