Our research concerns molecular and cellular mechanisms by which functional activity in the brain regulates development of the nervous system during late stages of fetal development and early postnatal life. Areas of study include interactions between neurons and glia; the mechanisms of learning and memory; effects of neural impulses on cell proliferation, differentiation, neurite outgrowth, synaptogenesis, synapse plasticity, and myelination; and the regulation of gene expression in neurons and glia by specific patterns of neural impulses.