The goal of Dr. Bains’s lab is to understand how physiological and behavioral challenges lead to long-term changes in neural circuitry. The Lab focuses on neurons that coordinate an organism's response to stress, with a particular interest in clarifying how the molecules released at the onset of a stressful stimulus leave a lasting imprint on how ‘stress-relevant' circuitry functions.  Within this context, the Bains lab conduct experiments that will allow it to understand the fundamental rules that govern cell to cell communication within the hypothalamus and elucidate the molecular machinery that contributes to changes in synaptic function which, in turn, may be critical for changing network output.

The Lab is currently exploring three lines of investigation:

• It has demonstrated that glial cells can permanently increase the strength of excitatory, glutamatergic synapses in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. The Lab is now focused on elucidating the extent of this novel interaction between glial cells and neurons and will examine the role of this interaction during physiological challenges.
• Based on new observations that homeostatic set points in vivo are defended by metaplastic synaptic changes, the Bains lab is now exploring additional mechanisms through which the activity-dependent release of retrograde signals impacts synaptic transmission.
• The inhibitory synapses onto neuroendocrine parvocellular neurons, the "command" neurons of the stress axis, exhibit remarkable state-dependent plasticity. The Lab has shown that the onset of stress is accompanied by a loss of GABA inhibition due to a collapse of transmembrane chloride gradients. It is now pursuing the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underline this remarkable switch. Furthermore, the Lab is exploring the impact of repetitive stress on synaptic function/plasticity in this system.

The Bains lab uses a number of experimental techiques to answer the above questions. These include, but are not limited to: patch clamp recordings from neurons in brain slices for the measurement of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic currents; UV laser uncaging of bioactive molecules; immunohistochemistry for the labeling of receptors and neuronal subpopulations.

Source:  http://www.hbi.ucalgary.ca/members/bains