Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Schlüter, Oliver, Prof. Dr.


  • 1995 - 2001 M.D. Ph.D. with Thomas C. Südhof at the Max-Planck-Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen
  • 2000 Dr. rer. nat. (PhD), University of Hannover
  • 2001 Dr. med. (Medical thesis), University of Göttingen
  • 2001-2002 Postdoc with Christian Rosenmund and Reinhard Jahn at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen
  • 2002-2006 Postdoc with Robert C. Malenka at Stanford University Medical Center (USA)
  • 2006 - 2015 Independent group leader (Emmy-Noether/DFG) at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen (ENI-G)
  • since 2015 Assistant Professor at the Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh
  • 2016 - 2021 Adjunct Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen
  • since 2021 Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh
  • Since 2022 Professor for Molecular Neurobiology at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen



Major Research Interests

Activity-dependent modulation of synaptic transmission is a fundamental mechanism by which neural circuits process and store information. Over the past decades, researchers have described a variety of related but mechanistically distinct forms of synaptic plasticity in vitro, yet the molecular events that lead to and regulate lasting changes in synaptic efficacy remain incompletely understood.
A central goal of my laboratory is to elucidate these underlying molecular mechanisms. We employ molecular replacement approaches, using mouse genetics and viral-mediated gene transfer, to manipulate the protein composition of single neurons with spatial and temporal precision. This allows us to examine the effects of heterologously expressed proteins either on a wild-type background or in neurons where endogenous protein expression has been diminished. We combine this approach with simultaneous dual whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in rodent brain slices, comparing the manipulated neuron directly to its neighboring, unmanipulated control cell to isolate cell-autonomous effects on synaptic transmission.
Using this approach, my laboratory has identified novel functions of silent synapses in circuit refinement, including their role as substrates for critical period plasticity with a progressive increase in AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory drive. We further investigate the molecular underpinnings of addiction-related synaptic plasticity, focusing on the generation and maturation of calcium-permeable AMPA receptor (CP-AMPAR)-containing silent synapses in the nucleus accumbens following cocaine and fentanyl withdrawal, and their contribution to relapse vulnerability.
Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity will ultimately provide necessary insight into the function of neural circuits and, more broadly, into how the brain adapts, learns, and can be pushed toward pathological states such as addiction or neurodevelopmental disorders.


Homepage Department/Research Group

https://psychiatrie.umg.eu/ueber-uns/team/



Selected Recent Publications