Dr. Thomas O’Dell
Professor and Executive Vice-Chair
C8-121 CHS
310-794-6626
todell@mednet.ucla.edu

Research Interests:

Synaptic physiology and plasticity; long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus

Representative Publications:

Opazo, P., Watabe, A.M., Grant, S.G.N., and O’Dell, T.J. (2003) Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulates the induction of long-term potentiation through extracellular signal related kinase-independent mechanisms. J. Neuroscience 23: 3679-3688.

Thompson, K.R., Olofsdotter Otis, K., Chen, D.Y., Zhao, Yl., O’Dell, T.J. and Martin, K.C. (2004) Synapse to nucleus signaling during long-term synaptic plasticity: a role for the classical active nuclear import pathway. Neuron 44: 997-1009.

Delgado, J.Y. and O’Dell, T.J. (2005) Long-term potentiation persists in an occult state following mGluR-dependent depotentiation. Neuropharmacology 48: 936-948.

Makhinson, M., Opazo, P., Carlisle, H.J., Godsil, B., Grant, S.G., and O’Dell, T.J. (2006) A novel role for cyclic guanosine 3’,5’ monophosphate signaling in synaptic plasticity: A selective suppressor of protein kinase A-dependent forms of long-term potentiation. Neuroscience 140: 415-431.

Representative Publications:

Chen, B.M. and Grinnell, A.D. (1997) Kinetics, Ca++ dependence, and biophysical properties of integrin-mediated mechanical modulation of transmitter release from frog motor neerve terminals. J. Neurosci.  17:904-916

Yazejian, B.M., Sun, X.-P., and Grinnell, A.D. (2000) Tracking presynaptic Ca++ dynamics during neurotransmitter release with Ca++-activated K+ channels. Nature Neurosci. 3:566-571.

Sun, V.-P., Yazejian, B, and Grinnell, A.D. (2004) Electrophysiological properties of BK channels in Xenopus motor nerve terminals. J. Physiol. 557:207-228

Synapse in Xenopus 
Nerve-muscle cell culture

Freeze-etch of frog nmj