Professor
	B.A., Colgate University M.S., University of Massachusetts Ph.D., University of Massachusetts
	Science Center A241 Oberlin, Ohio 44074 (440) 775-8366 denny.smith@oberlin.edu

I have been teaching at Oberlin since 1969, first as a member of the Psychology Dept and since 1986 as a member of the Neuroscience Program. Before arriving in Ohio, I received my B.A. degree from Colgate University, my Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, and I was a postdoctoral student in Psychiatry at Yale University for a year. While I have been at Oberlin, I have served as the Chair for both the Psychology Department and for Oberlin's Neuroscience Program. I am currently the treasurer for the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN), an organization that supports the teaching of neuroscience to undergraduates.

Current Courses

• The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience
• Human Neurobiology
• Introductory Neuroscience Laboratory
• Neuropharmacology
• Neuropharmacology Laboratory

Selected Courses Taught in Previous Years

• Neurophysiology
• Animal Behavior
  
• Physiological Psychology
  
• Darwinism and Human Behavior
  
• Introductory Psychology

Research Interests

My research focuses on the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, particularly those mechanisms that play a role in Long-term Potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus. For those of you not familiar with neuroscience, LTP refers to the long-term increase in the efficiency of transmission at synapses typically after they have been subjected to high frequency stimulation. It is widely, but not universally believed, that the phenomena that underlie the induction and maintenance of LTP are also the processes that account for memory. In recent years, my research has examined the effects of the transmitters, norepinephrine, and neuropeptide Y on LTP. My lab is also interested in the effects of growth factors on the maintenance of LTP.

In previous years my research has examined the effects of drugs on behavior and the development of receptors in the central nervous system.

Hobbies and Other Interests

I am a member of the Oberlin School Board. I'm also a sailor, tennis player, and skier. In the last 10 years I have become quite interested in the mountain states where my family and I regularly travel and hike. I find the history of both the southwest and northwest particularly interesting. In truth, however, my family takes up most of my free time. I have 3 children (Alexa-13, Russell-10, and Marshall-8). I serve as the soccer coach for Russell's team. Fran, my wife, has been working for 4 years as a nurse practitioner at the Oberlin Clinic where she sees patients in family practice.