Current Projects and Collaborations
My research projects have two goals: 1) incorporate students (and thus research becomes a teaching activity), 2) contribute to a better understanding of cortical development and organization. These projects include ongoing collaborative efforts with researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas ChildrenŐs Hospital, and Cornell University.
I am currently working on three main projects:
Evaluating effects of adverse experiences on the developing mammalian brain
It is likely that that adverse neonatal experience, including exposure to alcohol or pain, alter normal cortical development. Working with collaborators at Arkansas Children's Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, we study the effects these experiences have on brain development in a rat model. We hypothesize that following adverse experiences in neonates, we will find disruptions in behavior as well as in brain morphology, including disturbances in Purkinje cells and cortical neuron numbers, position and/or connectivity.
Understanding the role subplate neurons play in the mature brain
We hypothesize that a little-studied group of brain cells called subplate neurons form an interconnected network projecting in a widespread fashion across the various functional cortical regions. We are utilizing correlated light and fluorescent microscopy, and confocal microscopy, to obtain data on subplate distribution, shape, size, dendritic patterns and spine location compared across development and aging in the rodent cortex.
Modeling neurodevelopmental time across experimental animals and humans
Because the timing of neural events in developing brains follows a strikingly similar pattern, regression theory can be used to mathematically model and compare the timing of cross-species development, including humans. Working in collaboration with Barbara Finlay and Richard Darlington from Cornell University, we are modeling cross-species comparisons of neurodevelopmental time. Our current project involves incorporating these data into a computer program that is able to generate cross-species neural comparisons and predictions via an interactive web site:
http://www.translatingtime.net/.
