George James Augustine (born 1955) is an American
neuroscientist known for his work on
presynaptic mechanisms of
neurotransmitter release and his contributions to the development of
optogenetics, a tool to control neural activity using light.[1][2] He is best known as the author of the popular neuroscience textbook published by
Oxford University Press along with lead author
Dale Purves.[3]
Augustine has made seminal contributions to the understanding of
neurotransmitter release, showing that it is triggered by a remarkably local
calcium signal.[6][7] He has been influential in discovering the role of several proteins involved in the release of neurotransmitters from nerve terminals.[8][9] Augustine has played a key role in the use and spread of
optogenetics, a tool for interrogating neural circuits in the brain.[1][10] He has used the tool to investigate neural circuits involved in
Parkinson's disease,
Rett syndrome, and
impulsive behaviour.[11][12][13][14]
Selected publications
Books
Dale, Purves; Augustine, George J.; Fitzpatrick, David; Hall, William C.; LaMantia, Anthony-Samuel; Mooney, Richard D.; Platt, Michael L.; White, Leonard E., eds. (2017). Neuroscience (6th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-1-60535-380-7.
Articles
Augustine, George J.; Charlton, Milton P.; Smith, Stephen J. (1987). "Calcium Action in Synaptic Transmitter Release". Annual Review of Neuroscience. 10: 633–693.
doi:
10.1146/annurev.ne.10.030187.003221.
PMID2436546.
Smith, Stephen J.; Augustine, George J. (1988). "Calcium Ions, Active Zones and Synaptic Transmitter Release". Trends in Neurosciences. 11 (10): 458–464.
doi:
10.1016/0166-2236(88)90199-3.
PMID2469165.
^Augustine, George J. (2001). "How Does Calcium Trigger Neurotransmitter Release?". Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 11 (3): 320–326.
doi:
10.1016/S0959-4388(00)00214-2.
PMID11399430.
^Dale, Purves; Augustine, George J.; Fitzpatrick, David; Hall, William C.; LaMantia, Anthony-Samuel; Mooney, Richard D.; Platt, Michael L.; White, Leonard E., eds. (2017). Neuroscience (6th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-1-60535-380-7.
^Finch, Elizabeth A.; Augustine, George J. (1998). "Local Calcium Signalling by Inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate in Purkinje Cell Dendrites". Nature. 396 (6713): 753–756.
doi:
10.1038/25541.
PMID9874372.
^Bommert, Kurt; Charlton, Milton P.; DeBello, William M.; Chin, Gilbert J.; Betz, Heinrich; Augustine, George J. (1993). "Inhibition of Neurotransmitter Release by C2-domain Peptides Implicates Synaptotagmin in Exocytosis". Nature. 363 (6425): 163–165.
doi:
10.1038/363163a0.
PMID8097867.
^DeBello, William M.; Betz, Heinrich; Augustine, George J. (1993). "Synaptotagmin and Neurotransmitter Release". Cell. 74 (6): 947–950.
doi:
10.1016/0092-8674(93)90716-4.
PMID8104706.