Dr. Madison's laboratory is interested in the basic function, plasticity and modulation of Central Nervous System synapses, and their pathophysiology in Azheimer’s Disease as related to the functions of endocannabinoids. They use primarily electrophysiogical techniques along with high-resolution imaging to dissect the function of synapses undergoing changes due either to external stimuli, disease states or internal modulation, with an eye to understanding how those changes may affect behavior and memory.

Recent projects in the laboratory include a study of the role of the amyloid peptide A-beta in modulating synaptic inhibition through an action on the endogenous cannabinoid system of the hippocampus; the role of the Fragile X mental retardation protein in the formation of neural circuits, an array tomographic study on the influence of synaptic plasticity on the number of synapses made in neural microcircuits, and the characterization of synaptic plasticity states.

Studies in the lab are carried out using a full range of electrophysiological techniques including extracellular field potential recording, intracellular recording, whole cell and single channel recording in hippocampal slices and cultured neurons. In addition we utilize high resolution imaging of synaptically connected pairs of neurons using array tomography and CLARITY techniques.