Faculty Directory

Education

Degree	Institution	Major
Ph.D.	Duke University	Neuroscience/Psychology
B.A.	Emory University	Psychology with High Honors

Post-Graduate Training

Training	Institution	Specialty
Fellowship	Duke University	NIMH Trainee, Research Training Program in the Sciences Related to the Nervous System
Fellowship	Duke University	NIMH Predoctoral Fellow
Fellowship	HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL	NIH Research Fellow
Fellowship	University of Connecticut Health Center	NIH Research Fellow

Awards

Name of Award/Honor	Awarding Organization
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science	AAAS
Visiting Professor, MRC Toxicology Unit	University of Leicester
Visiting Professor	University of Salamanca, Spain
Visiting Professor	University of Salamanca, Spain

Medical School Neuroscience; Systems Neuroscience; Brain Microcircuitry; Neurobiology of Hearing

Neurobiology of Auditory System
Structure and function of CNS sensory neurons.
Microcircuitry and Network organization.
Ionic currents and channel expression and their role in information processing.
Neurobiology of hearing and deafness.

The general goal of our lab is to understand how information about sound is processed by the brain. The inferior colliculus (IC) is at the center of the auditory pathway. All information about sound must pass through the IC as it travels from the ear to the cerebral cortex. We are part of an international effort to unlock the secrets of this part of the brain.

Current work in the lab is focused on:

(1) Studies of the neurons, brain microcircuits, and synaptic organization of the auditory midbrain.
(2) Studies mechanisms that control the postsynaptic neurons in the auditory midbrain.
(3) In vivo whole cell recording of synaptic responses to sound stimuli.

We use many different methodologies. Neurons are studied in vivo so that we can use sound to identify their function. Neurons are also studied in vitro so that we can see the cell types and networks in isolation. Most of our experiments involve some combination of morphology, physiology, or molecular biology. Experimental methods include binaural auditory physiology in vivo as a routine part of anatomical experiments; whole-cell recordings in brain slices and in vivo; in situ hybridization; immunohistochemistry; histology for tract tracing and CNS tissue. Optical methods include brightfield, darkfield, epi-fluorescence, infrared differential interference contrast, and confocal microscopy. We frequently use advanced image processing and 3D reconstruction tools.

Accepting Lab Rotation Students: Spring '14

Neuroscience projects that could turn into a dissertation.

Synapses. Two basic circuits in the IC are proposed. In one, large IC neurons receive a dense, calyx-like excitatory synaptic input on the cell body and proximal dendrites. These synapses contain VGLUT2, a molecule that loads the transmitter glutamate into synaptic vesicles. The other circuit has smaller IC neurons with only VGLUT1-positive glutamatergic inputs on smaller dendrites. Circuitry in the IC is also notable because of many inhibitory inputs from the lower auditory brainstem. We hypothesize that inhibitory inputs from different sources have segregated targets in the IC. To identify the components of the IC circuitry, the excitatory and inhibitory inputs to IC will be identified in separate experiments that combine auditory physiology and tract tracing with in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry.

Neurons. To understand the two basic circuits in the IC, we must identify the postsynaptic neurons that receive the calyx-like input as well as the other IC neurons. Three different approaches on the same mouse animal model will identify the neurons in the two basic IC circuits: 1) identification of gene products related to specific ion channels, 2) axonal targeting, and 3) neurotransmitter content. In the first, the “molecular signatures” for IC neurons will be identified. A battery of molecular and electrophysiological experiments will show how the firing patterns and membrane properties of IC neurons are related to specific types of ion channels. This process will uncover the identity of the neurons with the VGLUT2 calyx-like glutamate input in addition to discovering molecular signatures for all IC neurons. In the second, the axonal target of the IC neurons with axosomatic glutamate inputs will be studied with retrograde transport and immunohistochemistry. In the third, transgenic mice whose GABAergic neurons are marked by GFP are used to discover the role of GABAergic neurons in the basic circuits of the IC. These mice also are used in the experiments above so the molecular signatures and axonal targeting of GABAergic neurons will be revealed. It is proposed that the two basic IC circuits use different neuron types with different axonal targets in the auditory pathway.

Students who wish to formulate their own novel questions about the synaptic organization of the auditory system are more than welcome.

Journal Articles

Book Chapters

Conference Papers

Other

Title or Abstract	Sponsor/Event	Date/Year	Location
UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain	Winter 2012 Study Abroad Course Fair	2012	UCONN Storrs CT
Feb 2012 Presentation on the UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain Study Abroad	UCONN Honors Program	2012	UCONN Storrs CT
Synaptic Organization and Parallel Pathways in the Auditory Midbrain	Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Beckman Institute	2012	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Synaptic Organization in the Inferior Colliculus	Depts. of Otology and Laryngology and Neurobiology	2012	Harvard Medical School, Boston MA
November 2012 Presentation on the UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain Study Abroad	UCONN Honors Program	2012	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
New concepts for neural circuits in the inferior colliculus	Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology	2011	Northeast Ohio Medical University
New Concepts for Neural Circuits in the Inferior Colliculus	Center for Hearing and Balance	2011	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Neuroscience Symposium series	University of Connecticut Health Center	2011	University of Connecticut Health Center
New concepts for neural circuits in the Inferior Colliculus	Department of Biomedical Engineering	2011	Boston University
New concepts for neural circuits in the Inferior Colliculus	Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic	2011	Prague, Czech Republic
New concepts for neural circuits in the Inferior Colliculus	Ninth International Workshop on Auditory Processing	2011	Cody, Wyoming
Dec 2011 Presentation to Honors Program about UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain	Honors Program	2011	UCONN Storrs CT
UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain	Fall Study Abroad Course Fair	2011	UCONN Storrs CT
Presentation to Honors Program about UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain	UCONN Honors Program	2011	UCONN Storrs CT
Presentation to Honors Program about UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain	Honors Program	2010	University of Connecticut
Neuroscience Symposium series	University of Connecticut Health Center	2009	University of Connecticut Health Center
Symposium to Honor Kent Morest	George Washington School of Medicine	2009	Washington, DC.
NEUROSCIENCE – An important field for biomedical engineering	Biomedical Engineering Society	2009	University of Connecticut
Presentation to Premedical Society about UCONN Neuroscience in Salamanca Spain	Premedical Society	2009	University of Connecticut
From Cochlea to Cortex: Recent Advances in Auditory Neuroscience	Medical Faculty and the Centre for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience (CMBN)	2008	University of Oslo, Oslo Norway
Neuroscience Symposium series	University of Connecticut Health Center	2008	University of Connecticut Health Center
The Auditory Brain - a Tribute to Dexter Irvine	A Satellite Meeting to IBRO	2007	Melbourne Australia
Neuroscience Symposium series	Neuroscience Symposium series	2005	University of Connecticut Health Center
Neuroscience Symposium series	Neuroscience Symposium series	2004	University of Connecticut Health Center
The Third Symposium on Molecular Mechanisms in Central Auditory Function, Plasticity and Disorders	The Third Symposium on Molecular Mechanisms in Central Auditory Function, Plasticity and Disorders	2004	Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Mathematical Biosciences Institute workshop on "The Auditory System."	The Ohio State University	2003	The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
International Symposium on the Central Auditory System: The Inferior Colliculus	University of Salamanca, Spain	2001	University of Salamanca, Spain
Neuroscience Symposium series	University of Connecticut Health Center	2001	University of Connecticut Health Center
Anatomical Methods for Research in Otolaryngology	Association for Research in Otolaryngology	1999	Midwinter Meeting of the Assoc.Res. Otolaryngology
The 2nd Symposium on Molecular Mechanisms in Central Auditory Function and Plasticity	The 2nd Symposium on Molecular Mechanisms in Central Auditory Function and Plasticity	1999	Park City, Utah
Acoustical Signal Processing in the Central Auditory System	International Symposium, Acoustical Signal Processing in the Central Auditory System	1996	Prague, Czech Republic
The Mammalian Cochlear Nuclei: Organization and Function	NATO Advanced Research Workshop	1991	Salamanca, Spain
Brown University, Neuroscience Section	Brown University, Neuroscience Section	1978	Brown University