Research Interests
My research is broadly concerned with the function of the brain dopamine system. We use genetically modified dopamine receptors expressed in cells in culture to explore the effects of dopamine, therapeutic drugs, and abused substances on the receptors. An example of this work is our utilization of in vitro mutagenesis to investigate the interactions of dopamine D2 receptors with agonists and signaling pathways. One area of emphasis is on the regulation of the sensitivity of dopamine receptors, and the regulation of the responsiveness of adenylate cyclase by dopamine receptor stimulation. The techniques that we use in these investigations include co-expression and biochemical analysis of a variety of signal transduction molecules (wildtype and mutant receptors, G proteins, effector enzymes), metabolic labeling and immunoprecipitation, and confocal fluorescence microscopy.
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