This laboratory is interested in the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuropharmacology of the central nervous system (CNS) pathways that convey pain, as well as the bulbospinal pathways that mediate the production of analgesia. Our studies emphasize a systems-level approach in which many different...

My research concerns the experimental investigation of cognitive processes in animal behavior, with particular interests in comparing cognition and perception in human and nonhuman animals. Specific research topics include: conceptual behavior, visual pattern recognition, short-term memory, and...

Dr. Benson's research interests include the study of ion channels involved in sensation. We have focused on a class of ion channels called Acid-sensing Ion Channels (ASICs), which play a role in responses to nociceptive, taste, and mechanical stimuli. We have discovered that ASICs are highly...

Serotonin neurons are mainly localized to the raphe nuclei of the brainstem, but their axons are widely distributed throughout the nervous system and have a ubiquitous role in physiological processes and behavior. Adding to this complexity is the diverse array of high-affinity receptors that bind...

In patient with lewy body disease, the protein alpha-synuclein aggregates, leading to severe multi-system symptoms, including hallucinations, loss of smell, dementia, imbalance, fluctuating confusion, and anxiety/depression. The main research goal of the Aldridge Laboratory is to understand the...

My research focuses on theoretical issues in the integration of neuroscience and psychology; the relation between human and nonhuman cognition; ethical implications of neuroscience. Recent publications

The Psychiatry and Early Neurobiological Development Lab (PENDL) at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine seeks to understand molecular and cellular aspects of early brain development and their relevance to psychiatric disorders. Hanna Stevens, the PI, is particularly interested in...

Mental illnesses such as anxiety disorder are very common but have always been challenging to study because most symptoms are subjective, qualitative, and can vary widely across different individuals. The brain is also more complex than many other organs because different regions of the brain can...

My research interest is the molecular basis of migraine. A hallmark of migraine is altered sensory perception coupled with head pain. To understand the mechanisms underlying these events, we have focused on the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), whose levels are elevated during...

The Williams Lab is interested in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which genetic risk factors contribute to psychiatric disease from a developmental perspective. Their current projects focus on voltage-gated calcium channel genes, which have been linked to the risk of...