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Amy Brooks-Kayal, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology & Pediatrics
502 Abramson
University of Pennsylvannia
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-590-2241; FAX 215-590-3779
email: kayal@email.chop.edu
Click here for selected publications since Dr. Brooks-Kayal's arrival at Penn
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Developmental and Molecular Neuroscience, Epilepsy RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
molecular biology (incl. single cell aRNA amplification and RT-PCR), immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, CNS tissue culture and acute neuronal isolation, animal models of epilepsy, neurophysiology, EEGRESEARCH SUMMARY
Current research focuses on how developmental changes in excitatory & inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor subunit expression in hippocampal neurons impact on receptor function and pharmacology, on the effects of status epilepticus in immature animals on the pattern of neurotransmitter receptor development and on the role of these receptor changes in epileptogenesis in the developing brain. Additional areas of research include the effects of antiepileptic drug treatment on receptor development in both normal and epileptic animals and differences in receptor expression between hippocampal neurons (collected at temporal lobectomy) from epileptic and non-epileptic children. We hypothesize that immature animals (and humans) subjected to status epilepticus will demonstrate long-term disruptions in the pattern of excitatory & inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor development which result in neuronal hyperexcitability and contribute to the process of epileptogenesis in the developing brain.
KEY WORDS:
development, neurotransmitter receptors, GABA(A) receptors, GABA(B) receptors, NMDA receptors, AMPA receptors, GABA, glutamate, hippocampus, epilepsy
