Research in my lab focuses on the cellular mechanisms involved with modulating the mammalian circadian clock, a group of neurons in the brain that generate 24 hour rhythms and control the daily behavioral and physiological rhythms expressed by mammals. We study these neurons in vitro, after we isolate them in a brain slice preparation, and we monitor their phasing within the 24 h cycle by recording the action potentials they generate. Current projects in the lab fall into two broad categories:1) investigations of how the cell surface molecule polysialic acid-neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) modulates light-induced phase shifts of the circadian clock. In particular, these experiments are looking at interactions between PSA-NCAM and a growth factor called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor and how their interactions may modulate the glutamatergic signaling in the clock cells. 2) investigations of how serotonin phase-shifts the circadian clock. These experiments include determining which receptors are involved, how receptor function is modulated, and what are the intracellular mechanisms that connect the receptors to the regulation of clock-associated genes.
Articles
Ethanol Modulates Mammalian Circadian Clock Phase Resetting through Extrasynaptic Gaba Receptor Activation (with B. McElroy, A. Zakaria, and J. D. Glass), Neuroscience (2009)
Ethanol modulates the actions of multiple neurotransmitter systems, including GABA. However, its enhancing effects on...
Tissue-type Plasminogen Activator-plasmin-BDNF Modulate Glutamate-induced Phase-shifts of the Mouse Suprachiasmatic Circadian Clock In Vitro (with Xiang Mou and Cynthia B. Peterson), European Journal of Neuroscience (2009)
The mammalian circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) maintains environmental synchrony through light signals...
The Mammalian Circadian Clock Exhibits Acute Tolerance to Ethanol (with J. David Glass), Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2009)
Background: Tolerance to ethanol is observed over a variety of time courses, from minutes to...
Chronic Ethanol Attenuates Circadian Photic Phase Resetting and Alters Nocturnal Activity Patterns in the Hamster (with Christina L. Ruby, Allison J. Brager, Marc A. DePaul, and J. David Glass), American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology (2009)
Acute ethanol (EtOH) administration impairs circadian clock phase resetting, suggesting a mode for the disruptive...
Acute Ethanol Impairs Photic and Nonphotic Circadian Phase Resetting in the Syrian Hamster (with Christina L. Ruby, Marc A. DePaul, Randy J. Roberts, and J. David Glass), American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology (2009)
Disrupted circadian rhythmicity is associated with ethanol (EtOH) abuse, yet little is known about how...