Our research is mainly directed to exploration of functional and pharmacological properties of ion channels, including those activated during synaptic transmission. For that purpose, we use electrophysiological methods, primarily patch clamp technique, combined with molecular-biology, immunohistochemical and microfluorometric methods (Ca²⁺ imaging). Using this approach, we study properties of excitable cells, such as cultured hippocampal and granular neurons or in vitro preserved neural circuits of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal brain slices, as well as HEK293 and COS cell lines transfected with recombinant NMDA or vanilloid receptors. The goal of our research is to comprehend the relationship between structure and function of ion channels, to characterize the actions of pharmacologically active substances and to explain the molecular mechanism by which they influence ligand-gated ion channels.

For more detailed understanding of physiological mechanisms and pharmacology of ligand-gated ion channels, we use quantitative analytical techniques (including the analysis of single ion channels, measuring of intracellular concentrations of Ca2+ and mathematical modeling).

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