Research Interests
There is considerable data supporting the view that disturbances
in control of autonomic nerve activity can contribute to the development
or maintenance of hypertension, cardiac dysrhythmias, and other cardiovascular
diseases. Our recent work demonstrates that neurons in a part of the medullary
reticular formation called the lateral tegmental field (LTF) plays an
important role in mediating autonomic reflexes. The reflexes that we study
are important in various physiological and pathophysiological states.
The major objectives of the neurophysiological research in my laboratory
are:
- to determine the types of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters
within the LTF that account for reflex-induced changes in sympathetic
activity,
- to identify the types of LTF neurons (sympathoexcitatory, sympathoinhibitory)
that are responsible for reflex-induced changes in sympathetic activity,
- to determine thye role of the LTF in control of phrenic nerve activity,
controlling respiration.
In conjunction with the use of standard extracellular
recording procedures, microiontophoresis, and microinjection techniques,
this research relies heavily on state-of-the-art computer-aided analyses
in both the time-domain (correlation analysis, spike-triggered averaging)
and frequency-domain (power density spectra, coherence functions).
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions
about my research.
Selected Publications
Search all publications in the NCBI Journal Database
Gebber GL, Orer HS, and Barman SM. Fractal noises and motions in time series of presympathetic and sympathetic neural activities. J Neurophysiol 95: 1176-1184, 2006.
Orer HS, Gebber GL, and Barman SM. Medullary lateral tegmental field neurons influence the timing and pattern of phrenic nerve activity in cats. J Appl Physiol 101: 521-530, 2006.
Barman SM and Kenney MJ. Methods of analysis and physiological relevance of rhythms in sympathetic nerve discharge. Clin Exptl Physiol Pharmacol In press, 2006.
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Susan
M. Barman 