Ralph DiCaprio
Education
Ph.D., University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Research Interests
- Lab: Life Sciences Building 220 D/F/G
My primary research focus is on the functional and integrative properties of non-spiking neurons involved in the control of motor behavior. The majority of neurons in most organisms must generate active, regenerative potentials action potentials in order to transmit information over even modest distances in the nervous system. In contrast, non-spiking neurons function without generating action potentials, and therefore use continuous or analog information transmission, rather than the requiring a digital encoding and transmission scheme inherent in the use of action potentials for information transmission and integration. Non-spiking neurons have been described in a variety of nervous systems and appear to play an important role in neuronal integration and provide a novel mechanism for the control of behavior.