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Neurophysiological Pharmacology Section
Judith R. Walters, Ph.D., Senior Investigator
Dr. Walters received her B.A.degree from Mt. Holyoke College and her Ph.D. from Yale University where she worked with Robert Roth and George Aghajanian studying the pharmacology and neurophysiology of the dopamine system in the basal ganglia. After postdoctoral work at Yale she became a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and then moved to the Experimental Therapeutics Branch in NINDS where she now serves as Section Chief of the Neurophysiological Pharmacology Section. Her laboratory is exploring the role of dopamine in basal
ganglia-thalamocortical function.
Staff:
- Nuzhat Ashgar, B.A., Office Manager, 301-402-1544 ashgarn@ninds.nih.gov
- Irene Avila, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, 301-451-1723 avilai@ninds.nih.gov
- Debra A. Bergstrom, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, 301-496-2067 bergstrd@ninds.nih.gov
- Elena Brazhnik, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, 301-451-1721 brazhnike@mail.nih.gov
- Christina Hatch, B.S., Post baccalaureate Fellow, 301-451-1720 hatchce@mail.nih.gov
- Anne Kask, B.S., Contractor, 301-451-1723 kaska@ninds.nih.gov
- Nikolay Novikov, M.D., Ph.D., Contractor, 301-496-0291 novikovn@mail.nih.gov
- Marian Wahba, B.A., Post baccalaureate Fellow, 301-496-0291 wahbami@mail.nih.gov
Research Interests:
The goal of the Neurophysiological Pharmacology Section is to elucidate the
function of specific neuronal systems in regulating information processing in
basal ganglia-thalamocortical networks. The Section interests are currently
focused on relationships between dopamine and basal ganglia-thalamocortical
system function and dysfunction, especially with respect to movement disorders.
Effort is directed toward identifying mechanisms that could be manipulated to
prevent, correct, and/or compensate for dysfunction occurring in these systems
in disorders such as Parkinson's disease, dyskinesia, Huntington's disease,
Tourette's syndrome and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Neurophysiological approaches are utilized to investigate activity in basal
ganglia-thalamocortical circuits in normal and abnormal motor states and the
potential for modulating basal ganglia- thalamocortical network function with
drugs and other interventions, such as deep brain stimulation. An area of
current interest is the role of dopamine receptor stimulation in modulation of
synchronized and oscillatory neuronal activity in a range of frequencies in the
context of basal ganglia-thalamocortical network function and dysfunction.
Techniques include in vivo recordings in anesthetized and awake behaving rodent
preparations in conjunction with selective lesion, stimulation or drug
treatments, and biochemical, behavioral and anatomical measures.
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Selected Publications:
- Parr-Brownlie LC, Poloskey SL, Bergstrom DA and Walters JR (2009) Parafascicular thalamic nucleus activity in a rat model of Parkinson's disease, Experimental Neurology 217, 269-281. Full Text/Abstract
- Pelled G, Bergstrom DA, Tierney PL, Conroy RS, Chuang KH, Leopold DA, Walters JR and Koretsky AP (2009) Ipsilateral cortical fMRI responses after peripheral nerve damage in rats reflect increased interneuron activity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, 14114-14119. Full Text/Abstract
- Walters JR and Bergstrom DA (2009) Basal ganglia network synchronization in animal models of Parkinson's disease, Cortical-Subcortical Dynamics in Parkinson's Disease, edited by KY Tseng , 117-142.
- Walters JR, Tierney PL and Bergstrom DA (2009) Oscillatory activity and synchronization in the basal ganglia network in rodent models of Parkinson's disease, The Basal Ganglia IX, edited by HJ Groenewegen et al. , 443-459.
- Di Martino A, Scheres A, Margulies DS, Kelly AMC, Uddin LQ, Shehzad Z, Biswal B, Walters JR, Castellanos FX and Milham MP (2008) Functional connectivity of human striatum: a resting state fMRI study, Cerebral Cortex 18, 2735-2747. Full Text/Abstract
- Aravamuthan BR, Bergstrom DA, French RA, Taylor JJ, Parr-Brownlie LC and Walters JR (2008) Altered neuronal activity relationships between the pedunculopontine nucleus and motor cortex in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease, Experimental Neurology 213, 268-280. Full Text/Abstract
- Walters JR, Hu D, Itoga CA, Parr-Brownlie LC, Bergstrom DA (2007) Phase relationships support a role for coordinated activity in the indirect pathway in organizing slow oscillations in basal ganglia output after loss of dopamine , Neuroscience 144, 762-776. Full Text/Abstract
All Selected Publications
Contact Information:
Dr. Judith R. Walters
Neurophysiological Pharmacology Section, NINDS
Porter Neuroscience Research Center
Building 35, Room 1C-905
35 Convent Drive, MSC 3702
Bethesda, MD 20892-3702
Telephone: 301-496-2067 office,
301-496-2067 laboratory,
301-402-0625 fax
Email: waltersj@ninds.nih.gov
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