Betsy Quinlan
Position title: Professor and Chair, Herman and Rubinstein Chair of Neuroscience
Email: betsy.quinlan@wisc.edu
Address:
Research interests: Regulation of synaptic plasticity in aging mammalian cortex, amblyopia
The goal of the research in the Quinlan Lab is to elucidate mechanisms by which synaptic plasticity is constrained by age, to identify molecular/cellular targets to promote rejuvenation of synaptic plasticity in adults. We have demonstrated that robust structural and functional plasticity can be reactivated in the adult mouse visual cortex by prolonged dark exposure and subsequent light reintroduction. The plasticity can be harnessed to drive the recovery of vision in severe amblyopia (lazy eye). Our current work employs visual psychophysics, intravital imaging and longitudinal electrophysiology to define how visual deprivation rejuvenates the plasticity of visual neural circuitry.
See publications here.