The focus of my research is to understand how the neurotransmitter dopamine modulates the activities of neurons. Dopamine signaling is involved in learning and memory and abnormal dopamine signaling has been implicated in a variety of mental disorders including schizophrenia, drug addiction, and Parkinson’s disease. Despite the importance of understanding how dopamine affects brain function, we do not have a clear understanding of the signaling mechanisms through which dopamine acts. This lack of understanding is in large part due to the inability to identify the molecular components involved in dopamine signaling. Biochemical approaches to identify such components are hampered by the cellular heterogeneity of the brain, by the difficulty in preparing large, pure populations of primary neurons and by the lack of cell lines that can be cultured and that accurately reflect the cellular environment present in neurons.