Helen Bateup

Helen Bateup

Assistant Professor of Neurobiology

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Research Interests

During circuit development and throughout life, neurons express different forms of plasticity that allow them to learn new information and respond to changes in the environment.  At the same time they must maintain balanced activity to preserve information flow in the network.  To do this neurons integrate fast-acting, local information from synaptic inputs with more long-term, global information about internal cell state and network activity.  Our laboratory studies how biochemical pathways process these diverse types of information to adjust synaptic strength and modulate neuronal excitability, and how these interactions go awry in disease.  In particular we are interested in how genetic mutations associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism lead to disrupted synapse and circuit plasticity.  To investigate these questions we are taking a multi-disciplinary approach incorporating molecular, biochemical, imaging, and electrophysiological analyses in mouse models and patient-derived human cells.

Bateup Figure 1

Left, confocal image of a hippocampal CA1 neuron expressing the red fluorophore tdTomato. Middle, two-photon live-cell image of a GFP-labeled neuron and its dendritic spines in a hippocampal slice culture. Right, immunocytochemistry staining for the dendritic protein MAP2 (red) and the excitatory synapse marker VGLUT (green) in a dissociated hippocampal culture.

Selected Publications

Bateup, H.S., Johnson, C.A., Denefrio, C.L., Saulnier, J.L., Kornacker, K., and Sabatini, B.L. (2013) Excitatory/Inhibitory Synaptic Imbalance Leads to Hippocampal Hyperexcitability in Mouse Models of Tuberous Sclerosis. Neuron, 78(3), 510-22.

Bateup, H.S., Takasaki, K.T., Saulnier, J.L., Denefrio, C.L., and Sabatini, B.L. (2011) Loss of Tsc1 in vivo impairs hippocampal mGluR-LTD and increases excitatory synaptic function. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(24), 8862-9.

Bateup, H.S., Santini E., Shen, W., Birnbaum, S., Valjent, E., Surmeier, D.J., Fisone, G., Nestler, E.J., and Greengard, P.  (2010) Distinct subclasses of medium spiny neurons differentially regulate striatal motor behaviors. PNAS, 107(33), 14845-50.

Bateup, H.S., Svenningsson, P., Kuroiwa, M., Gong, S., Nishi, A., Heintz, N., and Greengard, P.  (2008) Cell type-specific regulation of DARPP-32 phosphorylation by psychostimulant and antipsychotic drugs.  Nature Neuroscience, 11(8), 932-9.

Last Updated 2013-03-04