Li I Zhang

Assistant Professor
Dept. of Physiology & Biophysics
Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute
Keck School of Medicine

Research Topics

  1. Structural and functional rules for cortical synaptic circuitry
  2. Synaptic and cellular basis for functional development and plasticity of sensory cortex
  3. Cellular and molecular basis for activity-dependent plasticity of developing glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses
  4. Cellular and molecular mechanisms for synaptogenesis in Zebrafish CNS
  5. Cellular and molecular mechanisms for neuronal cell fate determination in Zebrafish

Research Overview

Selected Publications

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Wu GK, Arbuckle R, Liu BH, Tao HW, Zhang LI. (2008)  Lateral sharpening of cortical frequency tuning by approximately balanced inhibition. Neuron. 58(1):132-43. -PubMed

Liu BH, Wu GK, Arbuckle R,  Tao HW, Zhang LI. (2007) Defining cortical frequency tuning with recurrent excitatory circuitry. Nat Neurosci. 10(12):1594-1600. -PubMed

Wu GK, Li P, Tao HW, Zhang LI. (2006) Nonmonotonic synaptic excitation and imbalanced inhibition underlying cortical intensity tuning. Neuron. 22;52(4):705-15. -PubMed

Zhang, L.I., Tan, A.Y.Y., Schreiner, C.E. and Merzenich, M.M. (2003) Topography and synaptic shaping of direction selectivity in auditory cortex. Nature 424, 201-5. -PubMed

Zhang, L.I., Bao, S. and Merzenich, M.M. (2001) Persistent and specific influences of early acoustic environments on primary auditory cortex. Nature Neurosci. 4, 1123-30. -PubMed

Zhang, L.I., Tao, H.-z.W., and Poo, M.-m. (2000) Modification of developing retinotectal synapses by repetitive visual stimulation. Nature Neurosci. 3, 708-15. -PubMed

Zhang, L.I., Tao, H.-z.W., Holt, C.E., Harris, W.A. and Poo, M.-m. (1998) A critical window for cooperation and competition among developing retinotectal synapses. Nature (leading article) 395, 37-44. -PubMed