About Dr Rostislav Turecek

In the Laboratory of Synaptic Physiology the mechanisms underlying the plasticity of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission are studied in rodent brain slices using electrophysiological and immunohistochemical techniques. The Calyx of Held synapse in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) is mostly used as a model of the central type of synapse due to its large size enabling direct examination by the patch-clamp technique. Recent projects in the lab are aimed at revealing the physiological roles of inhibitory transmitters, their receptors and uptake systems in the MNTB neurons.

Experimental work has provided evidence of the novel excitatory nature of the classical inhibitory transmitters GABA and glycine. The results show that chloride-permeable glycine receptors, G-protein coupled GABA-B receptors, N-type Ca2+ channels and calcium-activated potassium conductances work in concert to support the extremely high reliability of glutamatergic synaptic transmission at MNTB neurons.

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A full publication record can be found here.