Table of Contents

Role of Motor Cortex in Control of Walking

Irina N. Beloozerova, and Mikhail G. Sirota

One focus of our laboratory is the role of the motor cortex in the control of walking. During complex walking it appears that the activity of the motor cortex contains commands addressed to the spinal cord and that these commands adjust the spinal locomotor mechanisms to specific structures of the pathway.

Structural Bases of Ionotropic GABA Receptor Function and Modulation

Yongchang Chang

Neurotransmitter-operated (ligand-gated) ion channels play essential roles in communication between neurons. The research in our laboratory focuses primarily on the GABA receptors, the receptors for the major inhibitory neurotransmitter gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain.

How Are Feelings Represented in the Human Brain?

A. D. (Bud) Craig

We use anatomical, physiological, and imaging methods to study the ways the brain represents the feelings we feel from our bodies, how these areas are interconnected, and how these areas are involved in emotions and mood disorders.

The Neural Control of Limb Movement

Alan R. Gibson

The research in our laboratory is designed to understand how the nervous system controls limb movements. The cerebellum is a major neural structure involved in movement control, and our initial studies focused on understanding what limb movements were controlled by discharge of cerebellar output cells.

Spinal Mechanisms in the Generation and Control of Movement

Thomas M. Hamm

Spinal nerve cells are a critical factor in the generation and control of movement. This article considers the contribution of spinal nerve cells to movement at several levels of complexity.

Translational Impact of Basic Research Studies of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Ronald J. Lukas

Current nicotinic receptor research is providing tangible insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in many maladies including nicotine dependence, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, schizophrenia, depression, and attention deficit disorder. This article illustrates how basic nicotinic receptor research informs and is informed by clinical studies and how it serves as a model for contemporary, translational, and biomedical research.

Modern Imaging Approaches In Neuroscientific Research

Stephen L. Macknik

This study examines some of the new electrophysiological and imaging techniques that have been developed in response to the demands of brain mapping. Our laboratory combines several of these techniques, including single-unit recording, fMRI, optical imaging, and in vivo two-photon microscopy, to map cortical circuits with high-resolution and in three dimensions.

The Role of Eye Movements During Visual Fixation

Susana Martinez-Conde

Our eyes continually move even while we fixate our gaze on an object. Although fixational eye movements have a magnitude that should make them visible to us, we are unaware of them. If fixational eye movements are counteracted, our visual perception fades completely due to neural adaptation. Thus our visual system has a built-in paradox.

Of Vocal Loss, Songbirds, and the Recovering Brain

Eric T. Vu

One of the most traumatic and debilitating consequences of a head injury or a stroke is a loss of speech or of the capacity to understand speech. To establish a theoretical basis for developing new, physiologically based methods of treatment for impaired speech, our laboratory has studied the neural mechanisms mediating vocal learning and vocal recovery in the songbird.