Research on how sleep contributes to memory has blossomed in recent years. These studies have generally focused on whether or not sleep impacts various types of memory independently. An open question is whether sleep interactively influences different memory types. My research focuses on two types of memory—specificity and generalization. Whereas...
The exchange of information in the brain is accomplished through sequences of action potentials that result from the integration of local microcircuits. Unraveling the connectivity of the neurons that constitute these microcircuits and how they contribute to network activity is vital for understanding how information is relayed through the brain...
In the vertebrate retina, neurons process visual signals, generating feature selectivity in their activity levels. We use computational models to understand these behaviors by interpreting them mathematically. One component of this analysis is the spatial selectivity or receptive field, a property found in all visual sensory neurons. The neurons found...
Stroke is the leading cause of permanent adult disability. Subcortical unilateral (hemiparetic) stroke affecting the internal capsule or basal ganglia is the most common of all strokes and usually results in hemiparesis of the contralateral arm and leg. About 80% of the individuals with a moderate to severe hemiparetic stroke...
Leptin, a peptide mainly secreted in proportion to adipose tissue mass, increases energy expenditure with a parallel increase in breathing. The existence of a leptin-mediated neural circuit linking breathing to metabolism has been speculated, yet the precise central mechanisms were unknown. In my thesis, I show that optogenetic activation of...
Mitochondrial complex I is the primary entry point for electrons into the mitochondrial electron transport chain that is composed of 45 individual protein subunits that are encoded in both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Mitochondrial complex I sits at an important nexus in the essential bioenergetic, biosynthetic, and signaling functions...
Considerable progress has been made in characterizing the neural circuits that underlie stress, fear, feeding, and pain. However, little is known about how they affect each other. Stress bidirectionally regulates feeding, either increases (e.g., stress-induced binge eating) or decreases (e.g., stress-induced anorexia), depending on the types of stressors, duration of...
The interaction of amyloid-β (Aβ) with endogenous metal ions is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, limited tools exist to study and modulate Aβ-metal binding. The Meade lab has developed cobalt(III) Schiff base (Co(III)-sb) complexes as protein inhibitors that competitively displace metals from...
Nearly all animals exhibit behaviors that can be classified as sleep. The distinctly disadvantageous nature of the asleep state, evolutionarily speaking, accentuates its role as a critical physiological process, yet chronic inadequate sleep is prevalent in today’s society. Among the multitude of health problems that have been linked to chronic...
Basal ganglia are a highly interconnected group of nuclei involved in motor control. The external globus pallidus (GPe) is a critical node within the basal ganglia circuit. While the prevailing basal ganglia circuit model assumes the GPe as merely a relay, phasic changes in the activity of GPe neurons during...