Noise is a major concern in circuits processing electrical signals, including neural circuits. There are many factors that influence how noise propagates through neural circuits, and there are few systems in which noise levels have been studied throughout a processing pathway. We recorded intracellularly from multiple stages of a sensory-motor pathway in the locust that detects approaching obje...

In addition to its role as a CNS neurotransmitter, glutamate has been shown recently to be an important component of the peripheral inflammation response. We demonstrated previously that the group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) mGlu1 and mGlu5 are expressed in the peripheral terminals of sensory neurons and that activation of group I mGluRs in the skin increases thermal sensitivity...

Kellie Adrienne Park CELLULAR MECHANISMS MEDIATING THE ACTIONS OF NERVE GROWTH FACTOR IN SENSORY NEURONS Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin upregulated with injury and inflammation. Peripheral administration of NGF causes hyperalgesia and allodynia in animals. Blocking NGF signaling reverses these effects. At the cellular level, chronic exposure of sensory neurons to NGF enhances expre...

Studies over the past decade have highlighted important roles played by sensory receptors outside of traditionally sensory tissues; for example, taste receptors participate in pH sensing in the cerebrospinal fluid, bitter taste receptors mediate bronchodilation and ciliary beating in the lung (Deshpande DA, Wang WC, McIlmoyle EL, Robinett KS, Schillinger RM, An SS, Sham JS, Liggett SB. Nat Med ...

The coding of stimulus information into patterns of spike times occurs widely in sensory systems. Determining how temporally coded information is decoded by central neurons is essential to understanding how brains process sensory stimuli. Mormyrid weakly electric fishes are experts at time coding, making them an exemplary organism for addressing this question. Mormyrids generate brief, stereoty...

given the significance of relativism in molding our worldview and uncovering the nature of truth, this study using the newly-developed concept of emotioncy, attempted to introduce sensory relativism as a new perspective based on which senses can relativize our understanding of the world. to espouse the theory, 24 individuals were interviewed on their experiences of phlebotomy. the results were ...

During locomotion, reflex responses to sensory stimulation are usually modulated and may even be reversed. This is thought to be the result of phased inhibition, but the neurons responsible are usually not known. When the hatchling Xenopus tadpole swims, responses to cutaneous stimulation are modulated. This occurs because sensory pathway interneurons receive rhythmic glycinergic inhibition bro...

Neural circuits that translate sensory information into motor commands are organized in a feedforward manner converting sensory information into motor output. The superior colliculus (SC) follows this pattern as it plays a role in converting visual information from the retina and visual cortex into motor commands for rapid eye movements (saccades). Feedback from movement to sensory regions is h...

Primary sensory afferent outgrowth within the developing longitudinal pathway of the spinal cord is important for intrasegmental and intersegmental communication that underlies coordination and development of reflexes and contributes to sensory perception. The endogenous mechanisms that regulate primary sensory afferent extension are the primary focus of this dissertation. This dissertation tes...

To investigate the characteristics of motor, sensory and sensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) of thoracic and lumbar roots, and demonstrate the feasibility of assessing axonal regrowth after the neurotization procedure in a sheep model. Six adult sheep were anaesthetized and placed in a sternal position. The thoracic and lumbar roots from T11 to L5 were identified at their emergence from the verteb...