#  Jeffrey Lichtman 

Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Santiago Ramon y Cajal Professor of Arts and Sciences

 

 

 



   ![Lichtman Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum10616/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/mbb/files/lichtman.2017.jpg?itok=AFHKQdJX) 

 



 

 email <jlichtman@mcb.harvard.edu> 

 laptop\_windows [Jeffrey Lichtman's Faculty Profile](https://www.mcb.harvard.edu/directory/jeff-lichtman/?referral=faculty) 

 laptop\_windows [Lichtman Lab Website](http://lichtmanlab.fas.harvard.edu/) 

 

 



 

I am interested in the mechanisms that underlie synaptic competition between neurons that innervate the same target cell. Such competitive interactions are responsible for sharpening the patterns of neural connections during development and may also be important in learning and memory formation. My laboratory studies synaptic competition by visualizing synaptic rearrangements directly in living animals using modern optical imaging techniques. We have concentrated on neuromuscular junctions in a very accessible neck muscle in mice where new transgenic animals and other labeling strategies allow individual nerve terminals and postsynaptic specializations to be monitored over hours or months. In addition, we have developed several new methods to improve our ability to resolve synaptic structure.



 

 

 





 

 

- ## Profile Type
    
     [Faculty](/profile-type/faculty)