Welcome to the Watanabe lab at JHU! 

We are EManiacs!

We are developing innovative electron microscopy techniques and applying those techniques to study the cellular and molecular basis of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Three basic parameters control the synaptic output: 1) the probability of synaptic release, 2) the number of synaptic vesicles available for exocytosis, and 3) the number of postsynaptic receptors and their alignment to fusion sites. We aim to elucidate how these parameters are regulated at the ultrastructural level and how they are influenced by other cells such as astrocytes and microglia. See research for details.

For flash-and-freeze video, click here. 

For morphometry scripts, click here.

The molecular animations of synaptic transmission based on our results are found below (English on the top and Spanish on the bottom).