Center
Center for Brain BodyUnderstanding how the body speaks to the brain
How are external stimuli such as tactile, thermal and pain signals processed by the spinal cord and broadcast to higher order brain areas that drive perception? How is pain processed from internal organs to be perceived by the brain?
Center
Center for Brain BodyOur relationship with the physical world is rich, complex, and essential for life.
Our research explores the properties and functions of somatosensory neurons and the functional organization of the subcortical somatosensory circuitry and the neural encoding of touch and pain.
We have generated an array of mouse genetic tools for interrogating the physiologically distinct classes of Low-Threshold Mechanoreceptors (LTMRs), which are the primary sensory neurons of touch, as well as HTMRs and other somatosensory neuron subtypes. These genetic tools are the lab’s engine of discovery that enable advanced physiological, anatomical, molecular, and behavioral analyses of the mammalian somatosensory system.
Our contributions have included:
Advanced genetic tools and methodologies are currently being used to explore the ultrastructural basis of LTMR response properties, unique functions of LTMR subtypes across the body, and the organizational logic of LTMR synapses in the spinal cord and brainstem that underlie tactile feature representation, pain, and autonomic reflexes.