Faculty

Ana Lia Obaid, Ph.D.

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Adjunct Associate Professor of Neuroscience
Department: Neuroscience

Contact information
Department of Neuroscience
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
B-5 Anatomy-Chemistry Building
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6074
Office: (215) 898-6114
Fax:
Education:
M.S. (Biochemistry)
University of Rosario, Argentina, 1969.
Ph.D. (Biochemistry)
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1974.
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Description of Research Expertise

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Optical measurements of electrical activity; excitation-secretion coupling; simple nervous systems in vitro; enteric nervous system

KEY WORDS:
Voltage-sensitive dyes; light scattering; excitation-secretion coupling; enteric nervous system; submucous plexus

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.

Selected Publications

Kosterin, P., A.L. Obaid & B.M. Salzberg: Long Lasting Intrinsic Optical Changes Observed in the Neurointermediate Lobe of the Mouse Pituitary Reflect Volume Changes in Cells of the Pars Intermedia. Neuroendocrinology 92(3): 158-167, 2010

Ana Lía Obaid B.M. Salzberg: Optical recording of electrical activity in enteric networks using voltage-sensitive dyes. Journal of Visualized Experiments 34: doi: 10.3791/1631, Dec 2009.

Fisher, J.A.N., J.R. Barchi, C.G. Welle, G.H. Kim, P. Kosterin, A.L. Obaid, A.G. Yodh, D. Contreras, B.M. Salzberg: Two-photon excitation of potentiometric probes enables optical recording of action potentials from mammalian nerve terminals in situ. J. Neurophysiol. 99(3): 1545-1553, Mar 2008.

Kim, G.H., P. Kosterin, A.L. Obaid, B.M. Salzberg: A mechanical spike accompanies the action potential in mammalian nerve terminals. Biophys. J. 92: 3122-3129, May 2007 Notes: This article earned a commentary in the New and Notable section of the Biophysical Journal (Eisenberg B. Mechanical spikes from nerve terminals. Biophys J 92: 2983, 2007.).

Kosterin, P., G.H. Kim, M. Muschol, A.L. Obaid, and B.M. Salzberg: Changes in FAD and NADH fluorescence in neurosecretory terminals are triggered by calcium entry and by ADP production. J. Membr. Biol. 208: 113-124, Nov 2005.

Obaid, A.L., M.E. Nelson, J. Lindstrom, and B.M. Salzberg : Optical studies of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes in the guinea-pig enteric nervous system. J. Exp. Biol. 208: 2981-3001, Aug 2005.

Obaid, A.L., L.M. Loew, J.P. Wuskell, and B.M. Salzberg: Novel naphthylstyryl-pyridinium potentiometric dyes offer advantages for neural network analysis. J. Neurosci. Methods 134: 179-90, Apr 2004.

Obaid AL., Koyano T., Lindstrom J., Sakai T., Salzberg BM.: Spatiotemporal patterns of activity in an intact mammalian network with single-cell resolution: optical studies of nicotinic activity in an enteric plexus. J. Neurosci. 19(8): 3073-3093, Apr 1999.

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Last updated: 10/03/2022
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