Karl Kandler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Otolaryngology, Neurobiology- Ph.D. University of Tubingen, Germany (1993)
- Office: 152 Eye and Ear Institute
- Telephone:412-605-0998
- Fax:
- E-mail: kkarl+@pitt.edu
- Website: http://kandler.neurobio.pitt.edu/
Development and plasticity of inhibitory circuits.
Research Summary:
Research in Dr. Kandler's laboratory focuses on the question of how neuronal circuits are established and modified during brain development. Ongoing work uses the auditory brainstem as a model system to explore the cellular mechanisms by which neuronal activity regulates the reorganization of inhibitory connections and the precise functional alignment of excitatory-inhibitory networks. Techniques applied in the laboratory include whole-cell patch clamp recordings from visually identified neurons, confocal calcium imaging, focal photolysis of caged neurotransmitters (photostimulation), genetic manipulations of developing neurons using particle mediated gene transfer, intracellular dye injections, immunohistochemistry, and in vitro tracing of neuronal connections. These techniques are primarily applied to acute and cultured brain slices prepared from normal and genetically altered mice.
Students in Dr. Kandler's laboratory have the opportunity to engage in a variety of research projects, such as investigating the functional properties of early synaptic transmission and synaptic integration, characterizing developmental changes in functional connection patterns, deciphering intracellular pathways responsible for plasticity in inhibitory synapses, and examining the functional role of ion transporters and neurotransmitters which are transiently expressed during the period of synaptic refinement.
Selected Publications:
Gillespie, D.C., Kim, G., Kandler, K. Inhibitory synapses in the developing auditory system are glutamatergic. Nature Neuroscience, 8: 332-338, 2005.
Kandler, K., and Gillespie, D.C. Developmental refinement of inhibitory sound-localization circuits. TINS 28: 290-296, 2005.
Lee, H., Chen, C.X., Liu, Y.J., Aizenman, E. and Kandler, K. KCC2 expression in immature rat cortical neurons is sufficient to switch the polarity of GABA responses. Eur J Neurosci. 21(9): 2593-9, 2005.
Kandler, K. and Thiels, E. Flipping the switch from electrical to chemical communication. Nat Neurosci. 8(12): 1633-4, 2005.
Ene, F.A., Kalmbach, A. and Kandler, K. Metabotropic glutamate receptors in the lateral superior olive activate TRP-like channels: age- and experience-dependent regulation. J Neurophysiol. 97(5):3365-75, 2007. Epub 2007 Mar 21.