Cellular and Systems Neurobiology Section - Division of Intramural Research
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Jeffrey C. Smith Ph.D., Senior Investigator
Dr. Smith received his B.S. degree from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University. After postdoctoral research in physiology at Harvard University, Northwestern University, and a Humboldt Fellowship at the University of Göttingen, Germany, in 1991 he became a faculty member in the Department of Physiological Science and Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Smith moved to NINDS in 1994. His laboratory is studying the functional and computational properties of oscillatory motor networks in the mammalian brainstem and spinal cord.
Laboratory Staff
Hidehiko Koizumi, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow 301-496- 6738
Bindiya Moorjani, Ph.D. Research Fellow - -
Stanley Smerin, Ph.D. Research Fellow 301-435- 6067
Ruli Zhang, M.D. Research Fellow 301-402- 2534
Research Interests
Research in this section is directed toward understanding brain mechanisms underlying the generation and control of innate motor behavior in the mammalian CNS. One of the fundamental challenges in contemporary neuroscience is to explain the generation of behavior in terms of the cellular and neural network properties of neural systems. Networks generating movement, particularly those producing innate rhythmic motor behaviors such as breathing and locomotion, provide important model systems to address this problem. We study brainstem networks producing rhythmic breathing movements. Our long-range goal is to explain the neurogenesis of respiratory movements at the molecular, biophysical, synaptic, and network levels. The respiratory network is one of the few neural systems that can generate behaviorally relevant patterns of neural activity in highly reduced preparations of the mammalian CNS. This attribute has enabled us to develop unique in vitro preparations (e.g. see Koshiya and Smith, 1999), including brain slice preparations, that retain active respiratory networks, allowing concurrent measurements at cellular, synaptic, and network levels in the context of behaviorally meaningful network activity. Selected Recent PublicationsDel Negro, C., R.J. Butera, C.G. Wilson, and J.C. Smith
Periodicity, mixed-mode oscillations, and quasiperiodicity in a rhythm-generating neural network - Biophysical Journal 82 206-214 2002 Del Negro, C., S.M. Johnson, R.J. Butera, and J.C. Smith
Models of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex. III. Experimental tests of model predictions - J. Neurophysiology 86 59-74 2001 Butera, R.J., Jr., J. Rinzel, and J.C. Smith
Models of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex. II. Populations of coupled pacemaker neurons - J. Neurophysiology 81 398-415 1999 Koshiya, N. and J.C. Smith
Neuronal pacemaker for breathing visualized in vitro - Nature 400 360-363 1999 Butera, R.J., Jr., J. Rinzel, and J. C. Smith
Models of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex. I. Bursting pacemaker neurons - J. Neurophysiology 81 382-397 1999 Smith, J.C., H.H. Ellenberger, K. Ballanyi, D.W. Richter, and J.L. Feldman
Pre-Botzinger Complex: A brainstem region that may generate respiratory rhythm in mammals - Science 254 726-729 1991
Contact Information
Cellular and Systems Neurobiology Section Laboratory of Neural Control, NINDS Building 35, Room 3C-917 35 Convent Drive, MSC 3700 Bethesda MD 20892-3700
Telephone: 301-496- 4960 (office), 301- 496-4960 (laboratory), 301-402- 4836 (fax), Email: jsmith@helix.nih.gov
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Jeffrey C. Smith Ph.D., Senior Investigator
Dr. Smith received his B.S. degree from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University. After postdoctoral research in physiology at Harvard University, Northwestern University, and a Humboldt Fellowship at the University of Göttingen, Germany, in 1991 he became a faculty member in the Department of Physiological Science and Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Smith moved to NINDS in 1994. His laboratory is studying the functional and computational properties of oscillatory motor networks in the mammalian brainstem and spinal cord.
Laboratory Staff
Hidehiko Koizumi, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow 301-496- 6738
Bindiya Moorjani, Ph.D. Research Fellow - -
Stanley Smerin, Ph.D. Research Fellow 301-435- 6067
Ruli Zhang, M.D. Research Fellow 301-402- 2534
Research Interests
Research in this section is directed toward understanding brain mechanisms underlying the generation and control of innate motor behavior in the mammalian CNS. One of the fundamental challenges in contemporary neuroscience is to explain the generation of behavior in terms of the cellular and neural network properties of neural systems. Networks generating movement, particularly those producing innate rhythmic motor behaviors such as breathing and locomotion, provide important model systems to address this problem. We study brainstem networks producing rhythmic breathing movements. Our long-range goal is to explain the neurogenesis of respiratory movements at the molecular, biophysical, synaptic, and network levels. The respiratory network is one of the few neural systems that can generate behaviorally relevant patterns of neural activity in highly reduced preparations of the mammalian CNS. This attribute has enabled us to develop unique in vitro preparations (e.g. see Koshiya and Smith, 1999), including brain slice preparations, that retain active respiratory networks, allowing concurrent measurements at cellular, synaptic, and network levels in the context of behaviorally meaningful network activity. Selected Recent PublicationsDel Negro, C., R.J. Butera, C.G. Wilson, and J.C. Smith
Periodicity, mixed-mode oscillations, and quasiperiodicity in a rhythm-generating neural network - Biophysical Journal 82 206-214 2002 Del Negro, C., S.M. Johnson, R.J. Butera, and J.C. Smith
Models of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex. III. Experimental tests of model predictions - J. Neurophysiology 86 59-74 2001 Butera, R.J., Jr., J. Rinzel, and J.C. Smith
Models of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex. II. Populations of coupled pacemaker neurons - J. Neurophysiology 81 398-415 1999 Koshiya, N. and J.C. Smith
Neuronal pacemaker for breathing visualized in vitro - Nature 400 360-363 1999 Butera, R.J., Jr., J. Rinzel, and J. C. Smith
Models of respiratory rhythm generation in the pre-Bötzinger complex. I. Bursting pacemaker neurons - J. Neurophysiology 81 382-397 1999 Smith, J.C., H.H. Ellenberger, K. Ballanyi, D.W. Richter, and J.L. Feldman
Pre-Botzinger Complex: A brainstem region that may generate respiratory rhythm in mammals - Science 254 726-729 1991
Contact Information
Cellular and Systems Neurobiology Section Laboratory of Neural Control, NINDS Building 35, Room 3C-917 35 Convent Drive, MSC 3700 Bethesda MD 20892-3700
Telephone: 301-496- 4960 (office), 301- 496-4960 (laboratory), 301-402- 4836 (fax), Email: jsmith@helix.nih.gov