Gary L. Westbrook, M.D.
- Professor, Vollum Institute
- Senior Scientist, Vollum Institute
- Rocky and Julie Dixon Professor of Neurology, Neurology, School of Medicine
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, School of Medicine
- Jungers Center for Neurosciences Research
Biography
Dr. Westbrook received clinical training in Internal Medicine and Neurology in Boston and St. Louis, and research training at the National Institutes of Health. He is senior scientist at the Vollum Institute and the Dixon Professor of Neurology at OHSU. His research interests are the mechanisms of synaptic transmission in the nervous system. Dr. Westbrook has been active in recruitment of faculty to the Jungers Center and in OHSU training activities in disease-oriented neuroscience research. He initiated the Neurobiology of Disease course in the graduate program and served as director of the Vollum/OHSU Neuroscience Graduate Program from 2008–2018.
Researchers in the Westbrook Lab would like to understand how synapses and small circuits do their work. Our earlier work was mostly directed at the level of receptors, particularly N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and the function of single synapses. Our efforts have now largely shifted to studies of small networks (microcircuits) in the hippocampus. Our goal is to understand how such circuits are formed, regulate their activity and contribute to the function of neural systems.
Education and training
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Degrees
- M.D., 1976, Case Western Reserve University
Memberships and associations:
- Editor-In-Chief, Journal of Neuroscience (2003-2007)
- Senior Editor, eLife (2015- )
Areas of interest
- neurogenesis
- hippocampal microcircuits
- glutamate receptors
- epilepsy
- regeneration and repair
- synaptic transmission
Additional information
Honors and awards
- Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, NINDS, NIH (1993)
- MERIT Award, NIMH, NIH (1997)
- National Academy of Medicine (elected member, 2008)
Publications
Publications
Induction of Oxidative Stress and Alteration of Synaptic Gene Expression in Newborn Hippocampal Granule Cells after Developmental Exposure to Aroclor 1254
NeuroendocrinologyAdaptive Mossy Cell Circuit Plasticity after Status Epilepticus
Journal of Neuroscienceα2δ-2 is required for depolarization-induced suppression of excitation in Purkinje cells
Journal of Physiologyα2δ-2 Protein Controls Structure and Function at the Cerebellar Climbing Fiber Synapse
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for NeuroscienceAutoimmune receptor encephalitis in mice induced by active immunization with conformationally stabilized holoreceptors
Science translational medicineEarly detonation by sprouted mossy fibers enables aberrant dentate network activity
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaExercise-induced enhancement of synaptic function triggered by the inverse BAR protein, Mtss1L
eLifePreferential targeting of lateral entorhinal inputs onto newly integrated granule cells
Journal of NeuroscienceTrajectory analysis unveils Reelin’s role in the directed migration of granule cells in the dentate gyrus
Journal of NeuroscienceDistinct temporal filters in mitral cells and external tufted cells of the olfactory bulb
Journal of PhysiologyModulating synaptic NMDA receptors
NeuropharmacologyPresynaptic gain control by endogenous cotransmission of dopamine and GABA in the olfactory bulb
Journal of neurophysiologyShort-term depression of sprouted mossy fiber synapses from adult-born granule cells
Journal of NeuroscienceEarly exposure to Aroclor 1254 in vivo disrupts the functional synaptic development of newborn hippocampal granule cells
European Journal of NeuroscienceParallel processing of afferent olfactory sensory information
Journal of PhysiologyTranscriptional profiling of newly generated dentate granule cells using TU tagging reveals pattern shifts in gene expression during circuit integration
eNeuroFunctional integration of adult-born hippocampal neurons after traumatic brain injury
eNeuroLocalized hypoxia within the subgranular zone determines the early survival of newborn hippocampal granule cells
eLifeFatty acids increase neuronal hypertrophy of Pten knockdown neurons
Frontiers in Molecular NeuroscienceNeuroligin-1 knockdown reduces survival of adult-generated newborn hippocampal neurons
Frontiers in NeuroscienceNeurologic impairment following closed head injury predicts post-traumatic neurogenesis
Experimental NeurologyThe IGF-derived tripeptide Gly-Pro-Glu is a weak NMDA receptor agonist
Journal of neurophysiologyDistinct modes of dopamine and GABA release in a dual transmitter neuron
Journal of NeuroscienceHierarchical excitatory synaptic connectivity in mouse olfactory cortex
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaNeural injury alters proliferation and integration of adult-generated neurons in the dentate gyrus
Journal of NeuroscienceTriheteromeric NMDA receptors at hippocampal synapses
Journal of Neuroscience