Ted L. Petit

Professor
Phone: (416) 287-7430
e-mail: petit@utsc.utoronto.ca



Research Focus

Our laboratory focusses on neural plasticity, learning and memory. We are interested in the way synapses change following activation in order to store information. We focus on anatomical changes in synapses at the ultrastructural level.



Current Research Projects

Current projects examine the synaptic changes that occur following long-term potentiation (LTP). We are examining what changes occur in the various aspects of synaptic morphology over time following the induction of potentiation.



Research Opportunities

My laboratory trains graduate students in synaptic morphology and neural plasticity.



Research Group

Janelle LeBoutillier, M.A., working on Ph.D., LabTech III
Diano Marrone, working on M.A.


Recent Publications

  1. Weeks AC, Connor S, Hinchcliff R, LeBoutillier JC, Thompson RF, Petit TL. Eye-blink conditioning is associated with changes in synaptic ultrastructure in the rabbit interpositus nuclei. Learn Mem. 2007 Jun 5;14(6):385-9.
  2. Connor S, Williams PT, Armstrong B, Petit TL, Ivanco TL, Weeks AC. Long-term potentiation is associated with changes in synaptic ultrastructure in the rat neocortex. Synapse. 2006 May;59(6):378-82.
  3. Petit TL. The 17th Annual Meeting of the Winter Conference on Neural Plasticity, Guadeloupe, French West Indies, February 19-26, 2005. CNS Drug Rev. 2005 Summer;11(2):213-22.
  4. Kushner SA, Elgersma Y, Murphy GG, Jaarsma D, van Woerden GM, Hojjati MR, Cui Y, LeBoutillier JC, Marrone DF, Choi ES, De Zeeuw CI, Petit TL, Pozzo-Miller L, Silva AJ. Modulation of presynaptic plasticity and learning by the H-ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase/synapsin I signaling pathway. J Neurosci. 2005 Oct 19;25(42):9721-34.
  5. Marrone DF, LeBoutillier JC, Petit TL. Modeling behavioral recovery following lesion induction in the rat dentate gyrus. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2005 May;83(3):196-205.
  6. Marrone DF, LeBoutillier JC, Petit TL. Ultrastructural correlates of vesicular docking in the rat dentate gyrus. Neurosci Lett. 2005 Apr 18;378(2):92-7.
  7. Petit TL. The 16th Annual Meeting of the Winter Conference on Neural Plasticity. St. Lucia, West Indies. February 21-28, 2004. CNS Drug Rev. 2004 Fall;10(3):261-9.
  8. Marrone DF, LeBoutillier JC, Petit TL. Changes in synaptic ultrastructure during reactive synaptogenesis in the rat dentate gyrus. Brain Res. 2004 Apr 16;1005(1-2):124-36.
  9. Marrone DF, LeBoutillier JC, Petit TL. Comparative analyses of synaptic densities during reactive synaptogenesis in the rat dentate gyrus. Brain Res. 2004 Jan 16;996(1):19-30.
  10. Marrone DF, LeBoutillier JC, Petit TL. Complementary techniques for unbiased stereology of brain ultrastructure. J Electron Microsc (Tokyo). 2003;52(4):425-8.
  11. Petit TL. The 15th Annual Meeting of the Winter Conference on Neural Plasticity, Guadeloupe, French Antilles, February 23-28, 2003. CNS Drug Rev. 2003 Summer;9(2):217-26.
  12. Weeks AC, Ivanco TL, Leboutillier JC, Marrone DF, Racine RJ, Petit TL. Unique changes in synaptic morphology following tetanization under pharmacological blockade. Synapse. 2003 Jan;47(1):77-86.
  13. Marrone DF, Petit TL. The role of synaptic morphology in neural plasticity: structural interactions underlying synaptic power. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2002 Feb;38(3):291-308.
  14. Weeks AC, Ivanco TL, Leboutillier JC, Racine RJ, Petit TL. Sequential changes in the synaptic structural profile following long-term potentiation in the rat dentate gyrus: III. Long-term maintenance phase. Synapse. 2001 Apr;40(1):74-84.
  15. Weeks AC, Ivanco TL, Leboutillier JC, Racine RJ, Petit TL. Sequential changes in the synaptic structural profile following long-term potentiation in the rat dentate gyrus. II. Induction/early maintenance phase. Synapse. 2000 Jun 15;36(4):286-96.


Teaching

  • PSYB65 Human Brain and Behavior
  • NROC63 Neuroscience Laboratory
  • NROD63 Advanced Neuroscience Laboratory