Laurence Trussell, Ph.D.

Background

Laurence Trussell received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1983. After initial postdoctoral work at UCLA, he obtained further training at Washington University, St. Louis. In 1990, he received a faculty appointment at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1999, he was appointed as professor in the Oregon Hearing Research Center with a joint appointment at the Vollum Institute.

Summary of Current Research

Using chemical and electrical signals, neurons preserve, process, and integrate information about sensory stimuli in the environment. Each sensory modality presents the brain with special challenges. These challenges are met by unique neuronal circuitry and by unique cellular characteristics in the neurons themselves. Laurence Trussell and his associates are interested in the fine tuning of membrane properties and synapses requisite to the incredible feats of computation performed in the auditory system, where even microsecond differences in signals have behavioral consequences.

The Trussell lab works on neurons in the cochlear nuclei and trapezoid body because their synapses offer the opportunity to study synaptic transmission at high resolution and because the investigators can relate findings about cellular mechanisms to activity measured in vivo. Patch-clamp analyses reveal that these neurons express a complement of glutamate receptors and potassium channels that enable the cells to fire reliably in response to incoming stimuli, thus passaging signals with little temporal jitter. The lab is finding that mechanisms of neurotransmitter release and clearance are also fine-tuned to the tasks of preserving timing information. Moreover, these neurons express presynaptic receptors that regulate electrical activity in unusual ways. Trussell and colleagues employ electrophysiological and optical approaches to reveal how single synapses participate in this process. Other studies in the lab are directed toward understanding the mechanisms and functions of long-term synaptic plasticities within auditory circuits.

Selected Publications

Balakrishnan, V., Kuo, S.P., Roberts, P.D., and Trussell, L.O. (2009) Slow glycinergic transmission mediated by transmitter pooling. Nature Neurosci. 12:286-294.

Bender, K.J. and Trussell, L.O. (2009) Axon initial segment Ca2+ channels influence action potential generation and timing. Neuron 61:259-271.

Huang, H. and Trussell, L.O. (2008) Control of presynaptic function by a persistent Na+ current. Neuron 60:975-979.

Roberts, M.T., Bender, K.J., and Trussell, L.O. (2008) Fidelity of complex spike-mediated synaptic transmission between inhibitory interneurons. J. Neurosci. 28:9440-9450.

Lu, T., Rubio, M.E., and Trussell, L.O. (2008) Glycinergic transmission shaped by the co-release of GABA in a mammalian auditory synapse. Neuron 57:524-535.

Balakrishnan, V. and Trussell, L.O. (2008) Synaptic inputs to granule cells of the dorsal cochlear nucleus. J. Neurophysiol. 99:208-219.

Lu, T. and Trussell, L.O. (2007) Development and elimination of endbulb synapses in the chick cochlear nucleus. J. Neurosci. 27:808-817.

Tzounopoulos, T., Rubio, M.E., Keene, J.E., and Trussell, L.O. (2007) Coactivation of pre- and postsynaptic signaling mechanisms determines cell-specific spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Neuron 54:291-301.

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