James C. Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Bengaluru Area, India

A cardinal feature of human brain development is that sensory, cognitive and emotional experiences shape synapses and neural-circuit development. Neuronal activity triggers changes at the synapse, altering the composition, shape and strength of the synapse. These neuronal activity-dependent modifications are necessary for learning and memory and for various behavioural responses, particularly during development. Several studies have shown that these features are altered in Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which affects ~3-4% of the population in the world. Mutations that cause ID and ASD are increasingly found in genes that encode for proteins that regulate synaptic function and/or structure. Recently, a de novo heterozygous (het) mutations in the gene that encodes for synaptic RasGAP, SynGAP, has been shown to cause ID and increase the risk for developing ASD in young children. We have recently demonstrated that in syngap1 heterozygous Knock-out (Het) mice, the net effect of syngap1 haploinsufficiency was to unleash dendritic spine synapse in the neonatal hippocampus during development, which drives excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) imbalance, seizures and various behavioural deficits. These early dendritic synaptic spine maturation is also linked to altered duration of critical period of plasticity that leads to life-long cognitive and social deficits. My lab is focused on understanding on how syngap1 haploinsufficiency alters 1) neural-circuit function, 2) feed-forward,-backward inhibition/excitation and 3) GABAergic maturation and function during various stages of development. These questions will be answered using patch-clamp recordings, extracellular field recordings and optical imaging techniques.

Jupiter, Florida, Usa

• Currently working on projects to understand the basic function of SynGAP protein in synaptic transmission• Use whole-cell, perforated patch clamp and extracellular field recordings on acute brain slices• Did 2-photon imaging on acute brain slices

Bangalore, India

Trained rats to do olfactory tasks and performed in vivo electrophysiological recordings in olfactory bulb

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Anatomy

I had worked on different projects during my Ph.D., which mainly focused on further our understanding of Group I mGluR-LTD..

M.Sc, Biology, 76

B.Sc, Maths, Chem, Bio, Phys,, 78

Activities and Societies: Badminton team, Organised conference