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Ana
Lia Obaid, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor,
Dept of Neuroscience
School of Medicine
215 Stemmler Hall/6074
(215) 898-6114 FAX: (215) 573-2015
email: obaid@mail.med.upenn.edu
Click here for selected publications since Dr. Obaid's arrival at Penn
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Optical measurements of electrical activity; excitation-secretion coupling;
simple nervous systems in vitro; enteric nervous system RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Multiple-site optical recording of membrane potential (absorption and fluorescence) and calcium transients with milli-second time resolution; intrinsic optical signals; primary cultures of identified invertebrate neurons; optical recording of electrical activity in mammalian networks, with single cell resolution.RESEARCH SUMMARY
I am interested in the application of optical techniques to a variety of physiological problems. These include excitation-secretion coupling, and studies of functional connectivity in small neuronal ensembles. Most of my recent work has employed a system for Multiple Site Optical Recording of Transmembrane Voltage (MSORTV), which, in conjunction with voltage-sensitive dyes, permits one to monitor electrical events in cells or parts of cells not easily accessible with conventional electrophysiological techniques. For example, we have been able to measure the electrical activity (using dyes) and the resultant secretory events (using light scattering) at the nerve terminals of the vertebrate neurohypophysis. We have also used optical techniques to study patterns of electrical activity in simple nervous systems, including small ensembles of identified neurons in tissue culture, and rings of submucosal ganglia of the guinea-pig small intestine.
KEY WORDS:
Voltage-sensitive dyes; light scattering; excitation-secretion coupling; enteric nervous system; submucous plexus
