Development of olfactory glomeruli and other reiterated compartments in the brain
Mechanisms underlying axonal guidance and specificity of synaptic connections
Interactions between neurons and glial cells in neural development and mature function
Neurobiology of insects; use of experimentally advantageous "simpler" systems
Leslie Tolbert's research abstract*:
Research in Dr. Tolbert's laboratory focuses on the development and functional organization
of the olfactory system, studied in convenient model organisms, the moth Manduca sexta and,
very recently, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Several different lines of investigation
have led them to focus much of our attention on roles for glial cells in development and
in mature function. Development of the olfactory pathway. In the long run, they hope to understand the
intercellular interactions between developing
receptor neurons, their target neurons in the brain, and glial cells at a molecular level.
They expect that the knowledge we gain will offer insights into intercellular influences
in less accessible developing mammalian sensory systems. Function of olfactory glomeruli. In collaboration with Drs. Timothy Secomb and Anita Goriely,
they have developed mathematical models, based on data from the Manduca antennal system, of ionic
diffusion within mature glomeruli and across the glial boundaries between glomeruli.
From these models, they learned that the glial borders of glomeruli are likely to limit the
diffusion of potassium ions sufficiently to have a substantial impact on electrical activity
within activated glomeruli. The goal is to use the experimental advantages and our
detailed knowledge of the moth antennal system to shed light on the organization of olfactory
systems in general.
Selected Publications*:
Tolbert LP, Oland LA, Tucker ES, Gibson NJ, Higgins MR, Lipscomb BW. 2004 Jun.Bidirectional
influences between neurons and glial cells in the developing olfactory system. Prog Neurobiol
73:73-105
Tucker ES, Oland LA, Tolbert LP. 2004 May.In vitro analyses of interactions between olfactory
receptor growth cones and glial cells that mediate axon sorting and glomerulus formation. J
Comp Neurol 472:478-95
Gibson NJ, Hildebrand JG, Tolbert LP. 2004 Aug.Glycosylation patterns are sexually dimorphic
throughout development of the olfactory system in Manduca sexta. J Comp Neurol 476:1-18
Tucker ES, Tolbert LP. 2003 Aug.Reciprocal interactions between olfactory receptor axons and
olfactory nerve glia cultured from the developing moth Manduca sexta. Dev Biol 260:9-30
