{"id":8495,"date":"2019-01-17T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T17:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/?post_type=directory&#038;p=8495"},"modified":"2024-10-15T11:56:33","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T15:56:33","slug":"ken-d-mccarthy-phd","status":"publish","type":"directory","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/ken-d-mccarthy-phd\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken D. McCarthy, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Research Interests<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Investigating the Role of Astrocyte Signaling in Brain Function<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Research Synopsis<\/h3>\n<p>Approximately 50% of the mammalian brain is composed of astrocytes.\u00a0These cells are present in every region of brain, are always closely associated with neuronal elements, and exhibit a wide variety of morphological phenotypes and neurotransmitter receptors.\u00a0It is striking that while these cells constitute the largest single population of cells in brain, we know very little concerning their role in brain function. Many neurobiologists believe that astrocytes play a critical role in buffering extracellular potassium levels within the narrow range required for neuronal activity.\u00a0Similarly, astrocytes are thought important in removing glutamate following its release at neuronal synapses.<\/p>\n<p>A primary goal of our laboratory is to determine how astrocytes and neurons are signaling one another and the functional outcome of neuron astrocyte conversation. Our working hypothesis is that there are microdomains within astrocytic syncytium that interact with neuronal synapses to facilitate or to dampen neuronal excitability and\/or neurotransmission. Through a combination of 2-photon imaging in live animals, electrophysiological, and behavioral\u00a0 studies using genetically-engineered mice we hope to begin unraveling the role of these cells in neurophysiology and disease.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/people\/primaryfaculty\/ken-d-mccarthy-1\/mccarthy-astrocyte-signaling\">(Read a more detailed an overview of the McCarthy Lab&#8217;s work: Investigating the Role of Astrocyte Signaling in Brain Function)<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Publications<\/h3>\n<p><a class=\"external-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/sites\/entrez?cmd=search&amp;db=pubmed&amp;term=McCarthy+KD+[au]\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click here for Pubmed publications.<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Research Interests Investigating the Role of Astrocyte Signaling in Brain Function Research Synopsis Approximately 50% of the mammalian brain is composed of astrocytes.\u00a0These cells are present in every region of brain, are always closely associated with neuronal elements, and exhibit a wide variety of morphological phenotypes and neurotransmitter receptors.\u00a0It is striking that while these cells &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/ken-d-mccarthy-phd\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Ken D. McCarthy, PhD\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8496,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-8495","directory","type-directory","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ken D. McCarthy, PhD | Pharmacology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/ken-d-mccarthy-phd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ken D. McCarthy, PhD | Pharmacology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Research Interests Investigating the Role of Astrocyte Signaling in Brain Function Research Synopsis Approximately 50% of the mammalian brain is composed of astrocytes.\u00a0These cells are present in every region of brain, are always closely associated with neuronal elements, and exhibit a wide variety of morphological phenotypes and neurotransmitter receptors.\u00a0It is striking that while these cells &hellip; Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/ken-d-mccarthy-phd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pharmacology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNC-Pharmacology-693103474191364\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-15T15:56:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/ken-d-mccarthy-124x143.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"124\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"143\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/ken-d-mccarthy-phd\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/ken-d-mccarthy-phd\/\",\"name\":\"Ken D. 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