My research focuses predominantly on understanding physiological processes mediated by glutamate receptors, which are signaling proteins that respond to glutamate, the predominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system. Aberrant glutamate receptor signaling has been implicated in a number of pathological conditions, including epilepsy, schizophrenia and neuropathic pain; because these proteins are critical to brain function, they also are involved in most neurological diseases to varying degrees. Furthermore, modulation of glutamate receptors underlies models of learning and memory such as long-term potentiation and depression. The critical roles played by glutamate receptors in neurophysiological and neuropathological processes provide a strong impetus for understanding these fascinating molecules at many levels of study.