Research Interest
Role of experience in the development of the nervous system; analyses of the neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, neuro-pharmacology and development of the auditory system using both whole animal and brain slice techniques.
Current Projects
- Experiential influences on the development of the auditory system. This includes analyses of the physiological and trophic roles of specific neurotransmitters using a brain slice preparation
- Electrophysiological investigations of how the brain might encode acoustic information
Much of our current research makes use of a brain slice preparation of the avian brain stem auditory system. The general lines of research currently active in my laboratory are highlighted below. The listed publications provide examples from each of these areas of interest. This work has been funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD).
Experiential influences
Sensory experience has a dramatic influence on the development of the nervous system. In the auditory system, for example, early deafness results in the neuronal death and atrophy. Somehow, auditory experience keeps these neurons healthy. We are attempting to identify the important activity -dependent signal(s) for cell survival in this system and determine the cellular mechanisms of their action.
Neuropharmacology and Neurophysiology
In addition to characterizing physiological responses produced by transmitter substances, we are investigating how the brain might encode acoustic information. Specifically, we have been investigating a neural circuit believed to be involved in coding sound location. Neurons in this circuit have specialized features for encoding temporal aspect of auditory stimuli and encode the location of a sound based on the differences in the timing of information coming from the two ears.
Publications
- Stincic TL, Hyson RL. Localization of CB1 cannabinoid receptor mRNA in the brain of the chick (Gallus domesticus). Brain Res. 1245:61-73. (2008)
- Bush AL, Carzoli KL, Hyson RL. The influence of chronic lithium administration on deafferentation-induced cellular changes in the chick cochlear nucleus. Neuroscience. 157(1):229-37. (2008)
- Bush AL, Hyson RL. Effects of lithium and deafferentation on expression of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, NFkappaB, beta-catenin and pCreb in the chick cochlear nucleus. Brain Res. 1203:18-25. (2008)
- Nicholas AH, Hyson RL. Afferent regulation of oxidative stress in the chick cochlear nucleus. Neuroscience. 140(4):1359-68. (2006)
- Bush AL, Hyson RL. Lithium increases bcl-2 expression in chick cochlear nucleus and protects against deafferentation-induced cell death. Neuroscience. 138(4):1341-9. (2006)
- Hyson RL. The analysis of interaural time differences in the chick brain stem. Physiol Behav. 86(3):297-305. (2005)
- Nicholas AH, Hyson RL. Group I and II metabotropic glutamate receptors are necessary for the activity-dependent regulation of ribosomes in chick auditory neurons. Brain Res. 1014(1-2):110-9. (2004)