Research Overview:

Research in the Department of Physiology emphasizes quantitative studies of the regulatory and control systems of the body. Two areas of particular strength are central nervous system (CNS) mechanisms controlling body function and molecular mechanisms mediating hormone and neurotransmitter action.

In the first area, faculty members study the control of blood pressure, respiration, sexual function, and movement (voluntary limb movements, coordinated eye/head movements that constitute gaze, postural control, and spinal reflexes regulating individual muscles).

Related efforts include studies of the biophysics and pharmacology of neural synaptic transmission and adaptive plasticity and investigation of computer models of CNS function. In the area of hormone and neurotransmitter action, we have faculty members studying peptides, excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, and catecholomines in testicular, kidney, endometrial, and ovarian cells and in brain slices and brain cell cultures.

Research Programs:

Our work on neural control is supported by a program project grant in the thematic area. Our work on neuronal populations and behavior is supported by a center grant. Members of the department also participate in many interdepartmental activities.

Eleven of us are members of a University-wide Institute for Neuroscience in which more than 80 faculty members from 10 departments collaborate to pursue interdisciplinary research and train graduate students in an interdepartmental PhD program.

We also participate in the Integrated Graduate Program in the Life Sciences, as well as the graduate training program, Dynamics of Complex Systems in Science and Engineering (IGERT), both of which provide the base for ties with departments in Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering. Additionally, several faculty members have joint appointments and collaborative research programs in clinical departments or centers including Anesthesiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), Surgery, and Urology.