Charles J. Frazier, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

Department of Pharmacodynamics
1600 S.W. Archer Road, Box 100487
Gainesville, FL 32610

Email: frazier@cop.ufl.edu
Office: P-209
Laboratory: P-229
Office Telephone: (352) 392-3447
Lab Telephone: (352) 392-9649
Fax: (352) 392-9187

Research in my laboratory is focused on identifying the specific neurophysiological mechanisms through which cholinergic afferents projecting from the medial septum to the hippocampus contribute to the regulation of hippocampal excitability. At a cellular level, we study the functional expression of both muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in an attempt to determine how activation and/or desensitization of these receptors can modulate the intrinsic behavior of hippocampal neurons. However, we are also interested in mechanisms through which activation of cholinergic receptors can modulate the behavior of both small groups of neurons (such as interneuron / principal neuron pairs), and larger systems of neurons that are capable of generating coordinated activity.

This research is motivated by the fact that the septohippocampal cholinergic projection has been strongly linked to information processing and memory formation, as well as to highly characteristic patterns of neuronal activity such as gamma and theta rhythms. Degradation of this pathway has been clearly implicated in senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and may play a role in other disorders that involve tight control of hippocampal excitability.

We approach these questions using in vitro preparations of rat brain slices in combination with differential interference contrast microscopy, fluorescent imaging, photometry, and multiple techniques of electrophysiology.

To see a list of publications via PubMed, please click here.