Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior - NPB

NPB emphasizes the understanding of vital functions common to all animals. All animals perform certain basic functions - they grow, reproduce, move, respond to stimuli and maintain homeostasis. Read more...

Chairperson:
Gregg Recanzone

Manager (MSO):
Cynthia Roberts

Mailing Address:
Department of Neurobiology, Physiololgy, and Behavior
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616

Department Office:
196 Briggs Hall
Phone: (530) 752-0203
Fax: (530) 752-5582

Undergraduate Advising:
188 Briggs Hall
EXB 530.752.2292
NPB 530.752.9696
Peer Advisors: 530.754.9406

LATEST NEWS

Keith Baar is one of the 2011 - 2012 Hellman Fellows. (Dateline - October 13, 2011)

Jim Trimmer's research featured on the cover of The Journal of Biological Chemistry (see the cover on the right).

Grace Rosenquist is featured in The Davis Enterprise: Young Scholars get a taste of college life.
(July 11, 2011)

Departmental Citations for Outstanding Performance are awarded to undergraduate students in the department who have achieved academic excellence and conducted true distinction in independent research under the guidance of our faculty. In addition, the students selected have achieved a grade point average of 3.6 overall and in their subject depth of their major.

James Shaffrath is a recipient of the Excellence in Education Award hosted by ASUCD. (California Aggie - May 26, 2011)

Alex Mogilner's research featured on the cover of Molecular Biology of the Cell (see the cover on the right).

Vice Provost Barbara Horwitz to step down from Academic Personnel (Dateline - Feb. 11, 2011)

John Wingfield elected as one of the new fellows in the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (Dateline - Jan. 14, 2011)

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

Cerda, O., and J. S. Trimmer. (2011). Activity-Dependent Phosphorylation of Neuronal Kv2.1 Potassium Channels by CDK5. J. Biol. Chem. 286:28738-28748

Busch, D.S., Robinson, W.D., Robinson, T.R., and Wingfield, J.C. (2011). Influence of proximity to a geographical range limit on the physiology of a tropical bird. Journal of Animal Ecology doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2010.01791.x.

Trimmer JS. How native cells regulate their ion channels.Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2011 Apr;22(2):131.

Baek JH, Cerda O, Trimmer JS. Mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics reveals multisite phosphorylation on mammalian brain voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2011 Apr;22(2):153-9.

Ramenofsky, M. (2011). Hormones in migration and reproductive cycles of birds. In Hormones and Reproduction in Vertebrates, D. Norris and K. H. Lopez. (Eds.), Academic Press. Pp 205-236.

Chen, S.-Y., Huang, P.-H. and Cheng, H.-J.. Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1-mediated axon guidance involves TRIO-RAC-PAK small GTPase pathway signaling. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (Epub ahead of print) (2011).

Pérez-Schindler J, Philp A, Baar K, Hernández-Cascales J. Regulation of contractility and metabolic signaling by the β(2)-adrenergic receptor in rat ventricular muscle. Life Sci. 2011 Apr 3. [Epub ahead of print].

P. Sommi, D.K. Cheerambathur, I. Brust-Mascher, A. Mogilner. Actomyosin-dependent cortical dynamics contributes to the prophase force-balance in the early Drosophila embryo, PLoS One, 6: e18366 (2011).

Stradleigh TW, Ogata G, Partida GJ, Oi H, Greenberg KP, Krempely KS, Ishida AT (2011). Colocalization of HCN channel subunits in rat retinal ganglion cells. J Comp Neurol. Mar 31. doi: 10.1002/cne.22638. [Epub ahead of print]

Sperka DJ, Ditterich J. Splash: a software tool for stereotactic planning of recording chamber placement and electrode trajectories. Front Neuroinformatics. 2011 Mar 22;5:1.

Speer CM, Sun C, Chapman B. Activity-dependent disruption of intersublaminar spaces and ABAKAN expression does not impact functional on and off organization in the ferret retinogeniculate system. Neural Dev. 2011 Mar 14;6:7.

Preston RS, Philp A, Claessens T, Gijezen L, Dydensborg AB, Dunlop EA, Harper KT, Brinkhuizen T, Menko FH, Davies DM, Land SC, Pause A, Baar K, van Steensel MA, Tee AR. Absence of the Birt-Hogg-Dubé gene product is associated with increased hypoxia-inducible factor transcriptional activity and a loss of
metabolic flexibility. Oncogene. 2011 Mar 10;30(10):1159-73. Epub 2010 Nov 8

Vacher, H., Yang, J.-W., Cerda, O., Autillo-Touati, A., Dargent, B., and J. S. Trimmer. (2011). CDK-Mediated Phosphorylation of the Kvβ2 Auxiliary Subunit Regulates Kv1 Channel Axonal Targeting. J. Cell Biol. 192: 813-824.

Wingfield, J.C., Kelley, J.P., and Angelier, F. (2011). What are extreme environmental conditions and how do organisms cope with them? Current Zoology 57: 363-374.

Jabbour G, Lemoine-Morel S, Casazza GA, Hala Y, Moussa E, Zouhal H.Catecholamine response to exercise in obese, overweight, and lean adolescent boys. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Mar;43(3):408-15.

Wingfield, J.C., Kelley, J.P., Angelier, F., Chastel, O., Lei, F., Lynn, S.E., Miner, B., Davis, J.S., Li, D., and Wang, G. (2011). Organism-environment interactions in a changing world: a mechanistic approach. Journal of Ornithology. DOI 10.1007/s10336-011-0668-3.

McPhee JS, Perez-Schindler J, Degens H, Tomlinson D, Hennis P, Baar K, Williams AG. HIF1A P582S gene association with endurance training responses in young women. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 Feb 23. [Epub ahead of print]

Bishop CW, London S, Miller LM. Visual influences on echo suppression. Curr Biol. 2011 Feb 8;21(3):221-5. Epub 2011 Jan 27.

Philp A, Hamilton DL, Baar K. Signals mediating skeletal muscle remodeling by resistance exercise: PI3-kinase independent activation of mTORC1. J Appl Physiol. 2011 Feb;110(2):561-8. Epub 2010 Nov 11.

Wang, G., and Wingfield, J.C. (2011). Immunocytochemical study of rhodopsin-containg putative encephalic photoreceptors in house sparrow, Passer domesticus. General and Comparative Endocrinology 170:589-596.

Klein AH, Sawyer CM, Zanotto KL, Ivanov MA, Cheung S, Iodi Carstens M, Furrer S, Simons CT, Slack JP, Carstens E. A tingling sanshool derivative excites primary sensory neurons and elicits nocifensive behavior in rats. J Neurophysiol. 2011 Jan 27. [Epub ahead of print]

Cerda, O., Baek, J.-H., and J. S. Trimmer. 2011. Mining Recent Brain Proteomic Databases for Ion Channel Phosphosite Nuggets. J. Gen. Physiol. 137: 3-16.

Klein AH, Carstens MI, Zanotto KL, Sawyer CM, Ivanov M, Cheung S, Carstens E. Self- and cross-desensitization of oral irritation by menthol and cinnamaldehyde (CA) via peripheral interactions at trigeminal sensory neurons. Chem Senses. 2011 Jan;36(2):199-208. Epub 2010 Nov 8.

Angelier, F., Wingfield, J.C., Weimerskirch, H., and Chastel, O. (2010). Hormonal correlates of individual quality in a long-lived bird: a test of the “corticosterone-fitness hypothesis”. Biol. Lett. Doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0376.

J. Zhu, A. Burakov, V. Rodionov, A. Mogilner. Finding the cell center by a balance of dynein and myosin pulling and microtubule pushing: a computational study, Mol. Biol. Cell, 21 , 4418-4427 (2010).

Cerda O, Trimmer JS. 2010 Analysis and functional implications of phosphorylation of neuronal voltage-gated potassium channels. Neurosci Lett. 486:60-7.

Cheng, T.-W., Liu, X.-B., Faulkner, R. L., Stephan, A. H., Barres, B. A., Huberman, A. D., and Cheng H.-J.. Emergence of lamina-specific retinal ganglion cell connectivity by axon arbor retraction and synapse elimination. J. Neurosci. 2010 Dec 1; 30(48):16376-82.

Haines BA, Mehta SL, Pratt SM, Warden CH, Li PA. Deletion of mitochondrial uncoupling protein-2 increases ischemic brain damage after transient focal ischemia by altering gene expression patterns and enhancing inflammatory cytokines. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2010 Nov;30(11):1825-33. Epub 2010 Apr 21.

Ditterich J. A Comparison between Mechanisms of Multi-Alternative Perceptual Decision Making: Ability to Explain Human Behavior, Predictions for Neurophysiology, and Relationship with Decision Theory. Front Neurosci. 2010 Nov 25;4:184.

Paxton JZ, Grover LM, Baar K. Engineering an in vitro model of a functional ligament from bone to bone. Tissue Eng Part A. 2010 Nov;16(11):3515-25. Epub 2010 Aug 28.

Juarez-Salinas DL, Engle JR, Navarro XO, Recanzone GH. Hierarchical and serial processing in the spatial auditory cortical pathway is degraded by natural aging.
J Neurosci. 2010 Nov 3;30(44):14795-804.

Akiyama T, Carstens MI, Carstens E. Differential itch- and pain-related behavioral responses and µ-opoid modulation in mice. Acta Derm Venereol. 2010 Nov;90(6):575-81.

Akiyama T, Carstens MI, Carstens E. Facial injections of pruritogens and algogens excite partly overlapping populations of primary and second-order trigeminal neurons in mice. J Neurophysiol. 2010 Nov;104(5):2442-50. Epub 2010 Aug 25.

Akiyama T, Carstens MI, Carstens E. Enhanced scratching evoked by PAR-2 agonist and 5-HT but not histamine in a mouse model of chronic dry skin itch. Pain. 2010 Nov;151(2):378-83. Epub 2010 Aug 14.

Myers, CA and Hawkins, D. (2010). Alterations to movement mechanics can greatly reduce anterior cruciate ligament loading without reducing performance. J. Biomech. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.06.003.

Clark T, Hawkins D. Are fixed limb inertial models valid for dynamic simulations of human movement? J Biomech. 2010 Oct 19;43(14):2695-701. Epub 2010 Jul 31.

Sih, A, Stamps, J., Yang, L.H., McElreath, R., Ramenofsky, M. (2010) Grand challenges: behavior as a key component of integrative biology in a human-altered world, Integrative and Comparative Biology pp. 1-11.

Kumar, V., Wingfield, J.C., Dawson, A., Ramenofsky, M., Rani, S., Bartell, P. (2010). Biological clocks and regulation of seasonal reproduction and migration in birds. Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 83(5):827-35.

Lesions in posterior parietal area 5 in monkeys result in rapid behavioral and cortical plasticity. Padberg J, Recanzone G, Engle J, Cooke D, Goldring A, Krubitzer L. J Neurosci. 2010 Sep 29;30(39):12918-35.
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Wacker, D.W., Wingfield, J.C., Davis, J.E., and Meddle, S.L. (2010). Seasonal changes in aromatase and androgen receptor, but not estrogen receptor mRNA expression in the brain of the free-living male song sparrow, Melospiza melodia morphna. Journal of Comparative Neurology 518: 3819-3835.

Cornelius, JM, Breuner, CW, and Hahn, TP. (2010) Under a neighbour's influence: public information affects stress hormones and behaviour of a songbird. Proc Bio Sci (1692) 2399-2404.

Mulloney, B and CR Smarandache (2010) Fifty years of CPGs: two neuroethological papers that shaped the course of neuroscience. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 4.

Hamilton DL, Philp A, MacKenzie MG, Baar K. A limited role for PI(3,4,5)P3 regulation in controlling skeletal muscle mass in response to resistance exercise. PLoS One. 2010 Jul 16;5(7):e11624.

Dewey, S., Gomes, A.V. (2010) Non-Antigen Processing Diabetic Cardiac Immunoproteasomes. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2010 Jul;49(1):1-4. Epub 2010 Apr 9.

Paxton JZ, Grover LM, Baar K. Engineering an In Vitro Model of a Functional Ligament from Bone to Bone. Tissue Eng Part A. 2010 Jul 1. [Epub ahead of print] .

Blumstein, D.T., Ebensperger, L.A., Hayes, L.D., Vasquez, R.A., Ahern, T.H, Burger, J. R., Dolezal, A.G., Dosmann, A., Gonzales-Mariscal, G., Harris, B., Herrara, E.A., Lacey, E.A., Mateo, J., McGraw, L.A., Olazabal, D., Ramenofsky, M., Rubenstein, D.R., Sakhai, S.A., Saltzman, W., Sainz-Borgo, C., Soto-Gamboa, M., Stewart, M.L., Wey, T.W., Wingfield, J.C., Young, L.J. (2010) Towards an integrative understanding of social behavior: new models and new opportunities. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 4:34.

Webster, M.A., Halen, K., Meyers, A.J., Winkler, P. & Werner, J.S. (2010) Color appearance and compensation in the near periphery. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B, Biological Sciences, 277, 1817-1825.

Schaal K, Van Loan MD, Casazza GA.Reduced Catecholamine Response to Exercise in Amenorrheic Athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 May 27. [Epub ahead of print]

Bowlin, M.S., Bisson, I-A., Shamoun-Baranes, J., Reichard, J.D., Sapir, Nir, Marra, P.P., Kunz, T.H., Wilcove, D.S., Hedenström, A., Guglielmo, C.G., Åkesson, S., Ramenofsky, M., Wikelski, M. (2010) Grand Challenges in migration biology, Int. Comp. Biol.50(3): 261-279.

Ramenofsky M. (2010) Behavioral Endocrinology of Migration. In: Breed M.D.and Moore J., (eds.) Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, volume 1, pp. 191-199 Oxford: Academic Press.

S P O T L I G H T

On The Cover

Clustered localization pattern of the Kv2.1 potassium channel in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. The image shows the clustered localization of the Kv2.1 channel (green), the synaptic marker PSD95 (red), the axon initial segment marker ankyrin-G (magenta), and the dendritic marker MAP2 (blue). In this issue, Cerda and Trimmer, pages 28738–28748, show that CDK5 modulates the phosphorylation and localization of the Kv2.1 potassium channel.

TEDx Talk
Keith Baar talks about Keys to a Happy, Healthy, and Longer Life

On The Cover

Molecular Biology of the Cell Cover Page

Image: Jie Zhu and Alex Mogilner, University of California, Davis; Anton Burakov, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; and Vladimir Rodionov, University of Connecticut Health Center.

Teaching Assistant Positions Available for 2011 - 2012.
Applications are accepted year-round.
(Application available from the Downloads section of the website.)

Sports Medicine Bulletin
Active Voice: Amenorrhea Not Only Negatively Impacts Bones - It Can Also Decrease Exercise Performance - Grechen A. Casazza