biology banner

CLFS_logo


A - Z

titleboxHEY-KYOUNG LEE titlebox

professor pictureAssistant Professor

email:hlee21@umd.edu
phone:
301.405.9784 (office)
301.405. (lab)
fax:301.314.9358
office:1112 Bioscience Research Building
graduate programs: Biology, NACS
bullet visit lab page   bullet most recent publications


RESEARCH INTERESTS

Our daily experience can trigger lasting memories, which are stored in our brains. Memories are stored ultimately by changing the way neurons convey information. More precisely, they are stored as changes in the function of synapses: the structures by which neurons contact and transmit signals to each other. My laboratory is interested in exploring the cellular and molecular changes that happen at the synapses to allow memory storage.

Combining various techniques, such as electrophysiological recording, biochemical/molecular analysis, and imaging, we are aiming to understand the cellular and molecular changes that happen during synaptic plasticity. It is well established that neural activity can trigger synaptic changes, such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), which are cellular models of learning and memory. Currently we are looking at postsynaptic mechanisms of LTP and LTD. We found that synaptic plasticity is associated with changes in postsynaptic glutamate receptors. LTP and LTD are associated with changes in phosphorylation of the GluR1 subunit of AMPA type glutamate receptors. Using genetically altered mice that lack phosphorylation sites on GluR1, we found that LTP and LTD are both impaired. One line of research involves elucidating the downstream events that follow AMPA receptor phosphorylation changes.

In addition to understanding the basic mechanisms of memory formation, we are also interested in elucidating the events that occur in diseased brains. Alzheimer's disease is a devastating memory disorder that affects the social well-being of affected individuals. In collaboration with Dr. Philip Wong at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, we are analyzing various mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, especially focusing on the possible alterations in synaptic plasticity mechanisms.

Recent Publcations


Lee, H.-K., K. Takamiya, K. Kameyama, K. He, S. Yu , L. Rossetti, D. Wilen, and R. L. Huganir (2007) Identification and characterization of a novel phosphorylation site on the GluR1 subunit of AMPA receptors. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. View PDF File

Goel, A. and H.-K. Lee (2007) Persistence of experience-induced homeostatic synaptic plasticity through adulthood in superficial layers of mouse visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience 27 (25): 6692-6700. View PDF File

Lee, H.-K. and R. L. Huganir (in press) AMPA receptor regulation and the reversal of synaptic plasticity - LTP, LTD, depotentiation, and dedepression. In: Comprehensive Handbook of Learning and Memory(Chief Editor: J. Byrne, Volume Editor: J. D. Sweatt), Elsevier press.

Laird, F. M., M. H. Farah, H.-K. Lee, A. V. Savonenko, D. L. Price, and P. C. Wong (2007) Beta-secretase: Physiological Role and Target Validation. In: Alzheimer's Disease (Editors: S. S. Sisodia and R. E. Tanzi). Springer.

Goel, A., B. Jiang , L.W. Xu , L. Song ,A. Kirkwood , and H.-K. Lee(2006) Cross-modal regulation of synaptic AMPA receptors in primary sensory cortices by visual experience. Nature Neuroscience 9 (8): 1001-1003. View PDF File and supplementary materials

Lee, H.-K. (2006) Synaptic plasticity and phosphorylation. Pharmacology & Therapeutics 112: 810-832. View PDF File

Lee, H.-K. (2006) AMPA receptor phosphorylation in synaptic plasticity: Insights from knockin mice. In: The Dynamic Synapse: Molecular methods in ionotropic receptor biology (Editors: J. Kittler and S. J. Moss). CRC press.

Laird, F. M., H. Cai, A. V. Savonenko,M. H. Farah, K. He, T. Melnikova, H. Wen, H.-C. Chiang, G. Xu, V. E. Koliatsos, D. R. Borchelt, D. L. Price, H.-K. Lee, and P. C. Wong(2005) BACE1, a major determinant of selective vulnerability of the brain to amyloid- amyloidogenesis, is essential for cognitive, emotional, and synaptic functions. Journal of Neuroscience, 25(50):11693-11709. View PDF File

Lee, H.-K., S. S. Min, M. Gallagher, and A. Kirkwood(2005) NMDA receptor-independent long-term depression correlates with successful aging in rats. Nature Neuroscience 8: 1657-1659. View PDF File.