| Name |
Keywords |
Research Interests |
| Anton, Eva |
radial glia, development, cortex, migration, cell adhesion |
The functional connectivity between neurons engendered by the laminar organization of the cerebral cortex is critical for normal cognitive function. Our aim is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal migration and layer formation in the mammalian cerebral cortex. |
| Baldwin, Albert |
NFKB, Cancer |
The laboratory continues to focus on the regulation and biological functions of the transcription factor NF-kB and on the role of NF-kB in disease, with a particular emphasis on cancer and cancer therapy. These studies focus on the signaling pathways which target NF-kB, on the biological mechanisms which NF-kB controls, and on the ability of NF-kB to promote basic oncogenic mechanisms as well as resistance to cancer therapy. |
| Belger, Aysenil |
fMRI, EEG, attention, sensory gating, schizophrenia, autism, cognition |
1. Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention and Executive function. 2. Functional mapping in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological recordings. 3 . Mapping neural basis of executive dysfunction in schizophrenia and autism. 4. Neurobiology of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. |
| Bhat, Manzoor |
Axon, Node of Ranvier, glia, drosophila, mice, neurexin |
Genetic Dissection of Axon-Glial Interactions in Drosophila and Mice |
| Boettiger, Charlotte |
Addiction, associative learning, attention, decision-making, frontal cortex, neuroimaging, pharmacology |
1. To understand how the brain learns new stimulus-response associations and replaces learned associations. 2. To determine the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the tendency to select immediate over delayed rewards. 3. To identify the neural bases of addiction-related attentional bias. |
| Breese, George |
pharmacology, HPLC, electrophysiology, ethanol, antidepressants, neurochemistry, neonatal lesions, autoradiography |
Behavioral effects of ethanol and psychotropic drugs, and the neuropharmacology of behavior. |
| Brenman, Jay |
neurodevelopment, dendrites, axons, molecular genetics, GFP |
Molecular genetics to identify genes required for dendrite formation and neurodevelopment using Drosophila. |
| Carelli, Regina |
electrophysiology, electrochemistry, dopamine, drug abuse, motivated behaviors, cocaine self-administration |
Neurophysiological mechanisms of goal-directed behaviors; role of nucleus accumbens plasticity in cocaine abuse. |
| Cheney, Richard |
myosins, growth cones, motility |
Molecular biology and physiology of novel brain myosins and their involvement in neuronal function. |
| Crews, Stephen |
neurodevelopment, neurogenomics, neural and glial cell diversity, gene regulation |
Molecular genetic analysis of central nervous system development with special emphasis on Drosophila as a model system. |
| Crews, Fulton |
ethanol, alchohol, stem cells, excitatory amino acids, behavior, physiology, addiction, neurodegeneration |
Role of excitatory amino acid receptors in the behavioral and physiological consequences of ethanol abuse. Neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. |
| Deshmukh, Mohanish |
apoptosis, cell death, neurodegeneration, development, survival, nerve growth factor, transgenic mice |
Molecular mechanism of apoptosis in neurons. |
| Diatchenko, Luda |
|
Genomics and proteomics of orofacial pain - Identification of novel mediators of NF-kB signaling through genome-wide survey of monocyte-adherence-induced genes. - Currently developing a new method for identification of novel inhibitors of signaling pathways based on subtractive cloning. |
| Dykstra, Linda |
behavioral pharmacology; drug abuse; opioid analgesics; drug reward/reinforcement; pain/analgesia |
Behavioral and Pharmacological investigations of opioid analgesia, drugs of abuse and other psychoactive compounds |
| Farel, Paul |
regeneration, development, spinal cord, motoneuron, cell death |
Developmental neurobiology of spinal motor function. |
| Fitzpatrick, Douglas |
auditory system, sound localization, single unit recording |
Sound localization pathways and function from brainstem to cortex. |
| Fuchs-Lokensgard, Rita |
addiction, learning, relapse, drug seeking, prefrontal cortex |
The role of associative learning and memory in cue-induced relapse to drug seeking. The role of the prefrontal cortex in suppression of drug seeking. Studies in my laboratory utilize surgical, behavioral, and histological techniques as well as neuropharmacological manipulations. |
| Gilmore , John |
dopamine, schizophrenia, imaging, FMRI, human, virus, development, |
Developmental regulation of dopamine receptor function in humans. Role of maternal viral infections in brain development. |
| Goy, Michael |
second messengers; cyclic GMP; synaptic modulation; neuromuscular physiology |
Regulation of cyclic nucleotide function in neuromuscular, CNS, and gastrointestinal systems |
| Grobin, Chistina |
development, schizophrenia, GABA, neurosteriod, neuronal migration, prefrontal cortex, apolipoprotein |
The role of neuroactive steroids in brain, and specifically their role in neural development in cortex, and in the specification and migration of GABAergic interneurons. |
| Harden, T. Kendall |
G proteins, phospholipase C, RGS proteins, P2Y receptors, ecto-nucleotidase, protein structure/function, molecular pharmacology |
Regulation of phospholipase C and inositol lipid signaling; Structure/function of RGS proteins; Biology of nucleotides and nucleotide sugars as extracellular signaling molecules |
| Hodge, Clyde |
drug addiction, pharmacology, behavior, neural circuits, genetics, receptors |
Behavioral neurobiology and pharmacogenomics of drug abuse: Neural circuits and genes that mediate drug, self-administration and discrimination. |
| Hollins, Mark |
somatosensory, psychophysics |
Psychophysical mechanisms of adaptation in normal and disturbed somesthesis |
| Hopfinger, Joseph |
fMRI, imaging, attention, visual system, human, memory |
1. The neural consequences of reflexive, or automatic, shifts of visual attention are studied with combined behavioral measures and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in humans. 2. Determine the temporal and anatomical organization of human attention systems, using event-related potentials combined with neuroimaging methods. 3. Investigation of top-down attentional control, aimed at understanding the cognitive neural architecture of executive attentional processes. |
| Huang, Xuemei |
Parkinson's, dopamine |
Structural basis for Parkinson's signs and symptoms; Etiologic factors in Parkinson's |
|
Johns, Joey |
drug abuse, oxytocin, maternal behavior and aggression, infant development and behavior, neuroendocrinology |
Our research examines the effects of drugs of abuse on maternal behavior and infant behavior and development. We employ methods ranging from behavioral pharmacological to molecular biological and collaborate with scientists from many different departments. |
| LaMantia, Anthony |
early forebrain development, pattern formation, induction |
My laboratory studies the role of inductive signaling in the early regional development of the mammalian forebrain. |
| Lauder, Jean |
serotonin, neurotransmitters, neuronal and glial cultures, whole embryo culture, rats, mice, in situ hybridization, receptors, immunocytochemistry, antiidiotypic antisera, morphometry |
Serotonin and neuronal/glial differentiation in the rat CNS. |
| Lohmann, Kenneth |
neural mechanisms, electrophysiology |
Neural mechanisms underlying the detection of magnetic fields and geomagnetic orientation. |
| Lund, P Kay |
peptides, growth factors |
Regulation of the biosynthesis and expression of neuropeptides; function of growth factors in the CNS |
| Lysle, Donald |
neuroimmunology, behavior |
Psychoneuroimmunology; the effects of conditioning on lymphocyte reactivity |
| Mailman, Richard |
dopamine receptors, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, molecular modeling, cAMP, second messengers |
Neurobiology of dopamine receptors |
| Maixner, William |
pain, electrophysiology, pharmacology |
Pharmacological and physiological mechanisms underlying the control of pain; role of hemodynamic factors in nociception |
| Malanga, CJ |
Developmental neurobiology; substance abuse pharmacology; physiology of synaptic transmission and plasticity; behavioral neurobiology; electrophysiology; behavioral pharmacology. |
Currently investigating the impact of early developmental exposure to drugs of abuse on brain development, focusing on the role of monoaminergic systems in the structural and functional changes observed with prenatal drug exposure using behavioral, electrophysiological and anatomical techniques. |
| Maness, Patricia |
cell adhesion, development, oncogenes |
Oncogenes and their expression in the developing nervous system |
| Manis, Paul |
synaptic transmission, receptors, ion channels, potassium channels, spike-timing dependent plasticity, patch clamp, brain slice, single cell neural modeling, calcium imaging, quantitative real-time PCR, single cell PCR |
Cellular mechanisms of auditory information processing and plasticity. Studies examine ion channels and synaptic function and plasticity in the brainstem and cortex. |
| Matsushima, Glenn |
myelin, glia, cytokines, demyelination |
Cytokines and MHC genes in the processes of neuronal myelination and demyelination |
| McCarthy, Kenneth |
glial cells, calcium signaling |
Regulation of intracellular calcium and glial cell function by neurotransmitter action; regulation of glial cell phenotype |
| Meeker, Rick |
neuroendocrine; supraoptic nucleus; pituitary; HIV; vasopressin; in situ hybridization; cholinergic receptors; AIDS dementia |
Immunocytochemistry and electrophysiology of vasopressin neuroendocrine cells of the hypothalamus |
| Morrow, A Leslie |
GABA-A receptor, mRNA regulation, ethanol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, neuroactive steroids |
Molecular Neuropharmacology, Mechanisms of Receptor Regulation, Alcohol Research, GABA-A Receptors |
| Nicholas, Robert |
receptors, purinergic receptors, G-proteins |
Regulation and function of G-protein coupled receptors in the CNS |
| Otey, Carol |
cytoskeleton, growth cone motility, astrocyte activation, glial scar, presynaptic plasticity, vesicle trafficking |
Regulation of actin cytoskeleton organization and its role in axonal outgrowth during development and after injury; changes in astrocyte morphology and motility in response to injury of the CNS. |
| Perl, Edward |
pain, nocioception, brain slices, spinal cord, sensory processing |
Specificity of sensory systems; cellular and molecular correlates of nociceptive function in mammals |
| Pevny, Larysa |
stem cells, development, cell fate, genetics, Neural induction, neurogenesis, SOX proteins |
Studies of neural stem cells and cell differentiation during early embrygenesis. Focus on the SOX family of transcription factors and their role in specifying neurons. |
| Philpot, Benjamin |
synaptic plasticity, visual system, ocular dominance, LTP, LTD, NMDA receptors, cortex |
We are studying how visual experience modifies the properties of synaptic plasticity (LTP and LTD) so that the visual world can be properly analyzed. We use brain slice preparations from transgenic mice. These studies will characterize how experience regulates the elementary properties of plasticity and excitatory synaptic transmission. |
| Picker, Mitchell |
addiction, behavior, opiates |
Behavioral responses to chronic narcotic analgesic treatment |
| Piven, Joseph |
autism, genetics, neuropsychology, behavior, development |
Dr. Joseph PivenŐs research focus is on the pathogenesis of autism including neural mechanisms, genetic basis and neuropsychological and behavioral phenotype. |
| Polleux, Franck |
development, ephrins, cortex, signaling pathways |
Identification of the cues and signaling pathways underlying the development of connections in the mammalian cerebral cortex |
| Powers, William |
Alzheimers Disease, Parkinsons Disease |
Abnormalities in metabolic pathways in neurons and glia in Alzheimer and Parkinson patients |
| Robinson, Donita |
alcoholism, electrophysiology, electrochemistry, behavior, neuropharmacology, neural circuits, dopamine, alcohol self-administration, drug addiction |
Cellular mechanisms underlying alcohol use in an animal model of alcohol self-administration: electrophysiological recordings at multielectrode arrays; electrochemical measurements of dopamine at microelectrodes; neuroadaptations induced by chronic alcohol exposure; pharmacotherapy for alcoholism. |
| Roth, Bryan |
Phramacology, G-proteins, serotonin, opoid receptors |
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and opioid receptors are involved in the actions of drugs used in treating a large number of illnesses including depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, migraine headaches, pain and chemotherapy-induced nausea. Understanding how drugs bind to and regulate serotonin and opioid receptors will yield insights into designing novel medications for treating a large number of CNS diseases. |
| Rosenberg, Robert |
electrophysiology; ion channels; patch clamp; Xenopus oocytes; ionotropic receptors |
Molecular mechanisms of gating and ion permeation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors |
| Rustioni, Aldo |
structure and cell biology of glutamate receptors and of actin-associated proteins |
Control of sensory input by presynapic glutamate receptors expressed by primary afferents to the spinal cord. The role of palladin, a newly discovered protein, in synaptic transmission and axonal sprouting in response to injury. |
| Samulski, Richard |
Adeno-associated virus, Gene Therapy, Gene Delivery, Muscle Delivery, Molecular Genetics, Molecular medicine, Viral vectors, disease models |
Development of efficient viral vectors for use in human gene therapy, testing adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a viral vector for gene delivery. Use of AAV vectors in animal models of human disease. |
| Sealock, Robert |
cytoskeleton; duchenne muscular dystrophy; dystrophin; membrane-cytoskeleton interaction; actin-binding proteins; protein chemistry; electron microscopy; freeze-etch; postsynaptic structure & cell biology |
Molecular mechanisms underlying acetylcholine receptor localization at neuromuscular junctions; the cytoskeleton of the muscle cell plasma membrane |
| Segal, Rick |
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| Siderovski, David |
G-proteins, cell signalling, GoLoco, RGS |
The GoLoco motif was originally identified by our group as a novel 19 residue signature in RGS12, RGS14, and Drosophila Loco. GoLoco motifs bind G-alpha subunits in a nucleotide-dependent manner. The Siderovski lab, before arriving in Chapel Hill, discovered the RGS proteins through research into immediate-early genes involved in T-cell activation. The Siderovski lab first discovered the "G-gamma-like" or GGL domain within a subfamily of RGS proteins (RGS6, RGS7, RGS9, and RGS11) -- this GGL domain binds to the neurospecific Gbeta5 subunit and forms one of our structural biology targets in Project I of our NIH Program Project Grant "G-protein Signal Integration by Multifunctional Proteins": |
| Snider, William |
neurotrophins, growth factors, sensory neurons, axon growth, nociceptors, transgenic mice, spinal cord development |
Growth factor regulation of axonal morphology, Growth factor regulation of nociceptor development |
| Stuart, Ann |
visual system, synaptic transmission, histamine, biophysics |
Processing of visual information in a simple (invertebrate) nervous system; mechanisms of synaptic transmission from photoreceptors |
| Sulik, Kathleen |
craniofacial, fetal alcohol, autism |
Structural and molecular analyses of craniofacial abnormalities associated with fetal alcohol syndrome. |
| Suzuki, Kinuko |
Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease; Galactocerebroside, ganglioside, myelination, site-directed mutagenesis, molecular cloning; expression system |
Molecular biology of genetic neurological disorders |
| Thiele, Todd |
addiction, alcohol, behavior, electrophysiology |
My primary research interests are directed at the neurobiology of alcoholism. To study the central mechanisms involved with neurobiological responses to ethanol, I use both genetic and pharmacological manipulations. |
| Tiesinga, Paul |
computational neuroscience, neural coding, data analysis, information theory, synchronous oscillations, neuromodulation, selective attention |
Biophysics of sensory information processing. |
| Ting, Jenny |
neuroimmunology, genetics, neurodegeneration |
Regulation of transplantation genes in the CNS during neurodegenerative disease states |
| Valtschanoff, Juli |
neurotransmitter, spinal cord, somatosensory, nitric oxide, vanilloid, electron microscopy |
Dr. Valtschanoff's research interests are in neurotransmitters in the brain and spinal cord. Past studies have involved amino acid neurotransmitters and nitric oxide in the rat somatosensory system, combining immunocytochemical techniques at LM and EM level with tract tracing methods and models of altered neuronal activity. Recent reasearch has focused on glutamate receptors and their anchoring proteins, and the role of vanilloid receptors in the mediation of nociception in the dorsal horn of mammals. |
| Van Dyke, Terry |
genetics, cancer, glial, glioblastoma, transcription |
Regulatory mechanisms of cell-specific gene transcription and cell growth control |
| Weinberg, Richard |
dendritic spines, calcium, neuroanatomy, electron microscopy, spinal cord, cortex, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitters, glutamate, GABA |
My primary research interest is postsynaptic mechanisms of glutamatergic transmission. I want to understand glutamatergic signaling, especially its short- and longterm modulation. My group is now studying the structural organization of the postsynaptic density and the dendritic spine. |
| Weiss, Ellen |
G-Proteins, retina, signaling |
The research in my laboratory concerns the regulation of G protein signaling pathways. G-proteins are activated by a family of cell surface receptors known as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These receptors, all having seven transmembrane domains, are regulated by diverse environmental signals, including hormones, neurotransmitters, odorants, light and ions such as Ca2+. The level of G protein activity in cells is ultimately determined by the level of receptor stimulation and by several mechanisms that contribute to inhibition of G protein signaling. |
| Wightman, Mark |
neurotransmitters; dopamine, norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine; in vivo measurements |
Real-time electrochemical measurements of neurotransmitter secretion in the rat brain |
| Zylka, Mark |
GPCRs, Neural circuitry, electrophysiology, behavior, molecular neurobiology |
Molecules and Mechanisms for Pain |
