Research Focus
Effects of sleep loss on brain chemistries, behavior, and electrophysiology
My lab is investigating the consequences of insufficient sleep at the molecular, genetic and whole animal behavior. Key interests include brain expression of microRNAs and epigenetics as they affect and are affected by sleep. The cortical expression of sleep homeostasis and how the brain organizes state-specific activity is another focus of the lab. The importance of sleep germane to neural plasticity is also a focus of the lab and is examined with multiple approaches such as hippocampal LTP, and behavioral paradigms including the Morris water maze, the Y-maze and a novel vibration maze for sustained attention. The role of stress in sleep loss is a more recent interest and is being examined by intracranial self-stimulation in rats.
Staff and Trainees
- Marcella Oonk, M.S. (Graduate Student, Neuroscience)
- Priyanka Bushana, (Graduate Student, Neuroscience)
- Theresa Nguyen, B.Sc. (Laboratory Manager)
- Will Clegern, B.Sc. (Laboratory Technician)
Approaches Used
- Slice electrophysiology
- Cortical EEG and LFP in rodents
- Whole animal behavior
- Intracranial Self-stimulation
- Gene expression analysis (qPCR, hybridization arrays)
Grant Support
- NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH:
- NINDS
- NIMH
- CELGENE
Publications
![Faculty and staff at the David lab](https://labs.wsu.edu/sprc/wp-content/uploads/sites/3449/2015/09/lab_davis.jpg)