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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

GPR55, hippocampus, learning and memory, electrophysiology, neurodegeneration

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

My project goal was to understand how G-protein coupled receptor 55, (GPR55), a novel cellular pathway in the hippocampus, contributes to learning and memory. Recent research of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s, has primarily focused on understanding how learning occurs and how memories are encoded within the brain. Understanding the process in a normal brain and then how it is disrupted in a diseased brain is essential to making headway on treatments for neurodegeneration. Some studies have shown that to encode memories, the brain changes neural synapses to either strengthen or weaken the electrical pathways, which is a process known as synaptic plasticity. Since GPR55 is a protein receptor that has been shown to induce synaptic plasticity, understanding more about its function and role will help contribute to the understanding and possible treatments of neurodegenerative diseases. To answer the question of GPR55’s role in synaptic plasticity, I conducted electrophysiology experiments on rat hippocampal slices. I gathered several control experiments and attempted some experiments with a drug, LPI, which has been shown to enhance GPR55.

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