My laboratory is interested in the pharmacology and neurochemistry of the basal ganglia, and the mechanisms of Parkinson's disease and other conditions which produce abnormalities of movement. Current areas of study include: 1) alteration in gene expression which may underlie the biology of synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies; 2) Alterations in the structure and distribution of NMDA glutamate receptors in Parkinson's disease, which may be responsible for the adverse effects of dopaminergic treatments used in this disease; and 3) the biology and physiology of the protein TorsinA, mutations of which cause early onset torsion dystonia. Our experimental approaches combine classic neuroanatomical methods with modern techniques of molecular and cell biology, using in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, laser capture microdissection, gene array profiling, animal models of disease, and in vitro systems.