Dr. Harold L. Atwood (Dept. of Physiology, Univ. of Toronto, Canada)

We continue to use crustacean preparations to investigate the properties involved in synaptic recruitment in low -and high-output synapses in motor nerve terminals. With the combination of ultrastructural and physiological analysis of specific synapses, direct functional correlations are being made.

Dr. Arny Stromberg & Dr. Kert Viele (Dept. of Statistics, Univ. of KY.)

Currently we are collaborating on a statistical problem with synaptic transmission in Drosophila related to neuromodulation.

Dr. Seongjai Kim (Dept. of Mathematics, Univ. of KY.)

We have continued projects that develop quantitative sterological methods for reconstructing the dimensions and spatial distribution of synaptic structures in the pre- and post-synaptic tissue from conventional transmission electron microscopy. Dr. Kim has the computational abilities to provide programs for the analysis of the biological problems that I address.

Dr. Wendi Neckameyer ( Dept. of Pharmacol. and Physiol., St Louis Univ. Sch. of Med., St. Louis, MO, USA)

Investigating differential expression of GABA transporters and aminergic synthesis in distinct arthropod species. This research is multidisciplinary, and includes molecular, biochemical, electrophysiology, behavioral and genetic approaches towards understanding the regulation of synaptic transmission.

Dr. Sidney Whiteheart (Dept. Biochemistry, Med. Sch., UK)

Molecular & physiological investigation of synaptically significant molecules involved in transmission at the NMJ.

Dr. James Winslow (Univ. of Toronto, Dept. of Biomed. Eng., Canada)
We are continuing our collaborative project on Ca2+ domains at active zones among neurons that display synapses with complex structures, such as with active zones of different sizes and their relative closeness to each other.

Dr. Donald Mykles (Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO.)

Examining the regulation of muscle isoforms in specific types of crustacean muscles.

Dr. Zhanna Shuranova (Inst. of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Moscow, Russia), and Dr. Yuri Burmistrov (Inst. for Information Transmission Problems, Moscow, Russia).

We are investigating the potential role of an autonomic nervous system in crayfish. In addition, we are using physiological measures of heart rate (HR) and ventilatory rate (VR) of crayfish following presentation of a defined sensory stimuli. Since behavioral observations do not allow an internal status to be assessed, it is suggested that HR and VR may serve as useful bioindices in crustaceans to their internal drive or possibly an awareness level to environmental cues.