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Developmental Neurobiology Section
Michael J. O'Donovan, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator
Dr. O'Donovan received his M.D. from the University of Bristol, England
in 1972 and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Sherrington School of
Physiology, at St. Thomas' Hospital Medical School, London in 1978. He
then came to the United States to do post-doctoral work at the NIH and
then Yale University, where with Dr. Lynn Landmesser he became
interested in the development of spinal networks. In 1982 he joined the
faculty of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the
University of Iowa. In 1988 he joined the Laboratory of Neural Control
at the NINDS and in 1991 became chief of the Section on Developmental
Neurobiology. His major research interest is the origin and function of
spontaneous activity in developing spinal networks.
Staff:
- Dr. Dvir Blivis, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow blivisd@ninds.nih.gov
- Dr. Nikolai Chub, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, 301-402-4835 chubn@ninds.nih.gov
- Dr. Gal Haspel, Ph.D., Research Fellow haspelg@ninds.nih.gov
- Wen Fang Liu, B.S., Research Assistant, 301-496-9661 Wen Fang Liu
- Dr. George Z Mentis, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, 301-451-0933 mentisg@ninds.nih.gov
- Avinash Pujala, B.S., Graduate Student pujalaav@od.nih.gov
- Dr. Vatsala Thirumalai, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow thirumalaiv@ninds.nih.gov
- Dr. Itaru Yazawa, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow yazawi@ninds.nih.gov
Research Interests:
Research in this section is concerned with the development and operation of circuits in the spinal cord. We are currently devoting most of our effort to understanding the organization of spinal circuitry involved in locomotion of the neonatal mouse. We are particularly interested in understanding the role of motoneurons in the operation of locomotor networks and the mechanisms responsible for the excitatory effects of motoneurons within the spinal cord.
We have also been using calcium and voltage-sensitive dye imaging to visualize the spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal activity associated with rhythmic locomotor-like bursting. This work has revealed the existence of a rostro-caudal 'wave' of excitation in the activation of rostral lumbar and sacral motoneurons during each cycle of rhythmic activity. We are currently using imaging the visualize the neuronal populations that are active during spinal network activity.
We are also examining the electrophysiology and synaptic inputs to motoneurons in a mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We have discovered that motoneurons suffer a massive functional de- afferentation from sensory and descending inputs in this disease. We are currently investigating if this precedes or follows the electrophysiological abnormalities present in motoneurons.
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Selected Publications:
- Shneider NA, Mentis GZ, Schustak J, O'Donovan MJ. (2009) Functionally reduced sensorimotor connections form with normal specificity despite abnormal muscle spindle development: the role of spindle-derived neurotrophin 3., J Neurosci. 29, 4719-35.. Full Text/Abstract
- Bonnot A, Chub NL, Pujala A, O'Donovan MJ. (2009) Excitatory actions of ventral root stimulation during network activity generated by the disinhibited neonatal mouse spinal cord., J Neurophysiol. Epub, Mar.25. Full Text/Abstract
- Vladimirski BB, Tabak J, O'Donovan MJ, Rinzel J. (2008) Episodic activity in a heterogeneous excitatory network, from spiking neurons to mean field., J Comput Neurosci. 25, 39-63. Full Text/Abstract
- O'Donovan MJ, Bonnot A, Mentis GZ, Arai Y, Chub N, Shneider NA, Wenner P. (2008) Imaging the spatiotemporal organization of neural activity in the developing spinal cord., Dev Neurobiol. 68, 788-803. Full Text/Abstract
- Blivis D, Mentis GZ , O'Donovan MJ and Lev-Tov A (2007) Interaction between afferent pathways and central pattern generators in the neonatal rat spinal cord, J. Neurophysiol. 97, 2875-2886. Full Text/Abstract
- Arai Y, Mentis GZ, Wu J and O'Donovan MJ (2007) Ventrolateral origin of activity during each cycle of spontaneous activity generated by the spinal cord of the chick embryo , PLoS ONE 2(5), e317. Full Text/Abstract
- Oz M, Yang KH, Shippenberg TS, Renaud LP, O'Donovan MJ (2007) Cholecystokinin B type receptors mediate a G protein-dependent depolarizing action of cholecystokinin (CCK-8s) on rodent neonatal spinal ventral horn neurons. , J.Neurophysiol. 98, 1108-14. Full Text/Abstract
All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. Michael J. O'Donovan
Developmental Neurobiology Section
Laboratory of Neural Control, NINDS
Building 35, Room 3C-1014
35 Convent Drive, MSC 3700
Bethesda, MD 20892-3700
Telephone: 301-496-8892 office,
301-402-4835 laboratory,
301-402-4836 fax
Email: odonovm@ninds.nih.gov
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