Education:

Research Associate - Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH - 1996-1997

Research Associate - Wright State School of Medicine, Dayton, OH - 1994-1996

Postdoctoral Fellow - Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH - 1993-1994

Ph. D - Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH - 1988-1993

M.S - University of Colorado, Boulder, CO - 1986-1988

B.S. - University of Colorado, Boulder, CO - 1980-1984

Courses Offered:

Introduction to Neuroscience

Advanced Neuroscience

Human Anatomy

Pharmacolgy

Current Research Interests:

The brain is composed of two types of cells termed neurons and glia. Most of what we know about the processing of information in the brain involves the generation, propagation and transfer of electrical signals between neurons within the brain. Although it is clear that neurons play a pivotal role in all brain-related activities such as learning and memory, recent research suggests that glial cells may play a crucial role in normal neuronal function. The importance of glia in normal brain function may be related to their ability to regulate a variety of chemicals accessible to the neurons. The regulation of these chemicals is important to study because these substances that can have profound effects on the production of electrical signals in neurons and thus the manner in which information is processed by the brain.

My National Science Foundation grant is focused on examining the role of glia in a region of the brain involved in the regulation of breathing. Using live brain tissue and fluorescence microscopy, I am investigating how glia regulate the level of acidity in a region of the brain known as the medulla. Controlling the level of acidity in the body is one of the most tightly regulated systems known. This tight regulation is thought to occur because slight variations in acidity (either too much or too little) can greatly disrupt cell function throughout the body. The medulla is a particularly important region of the brain since neurons at these sites 'sense' changes in acidity by altering their production of electrical signals. These changes in electrical signals ultimately result in a change in breathing, which is one method the body uses to regulate acidity. Investigating the role of glia in this response is exciting because it will provide important new information on the intimate coupling of glial and neuronal function and how the interaction of these cell types help shape information processing in the brain.

Recent Publications:

Erlichman, J.S., Hewitt, A.J., Hart, M., Kurasz, J. and Leiter, J.C., 2007. Inhibition of monocarboxylate transporter 2 in the retrotrapezoid nucleus in rats – a test of the lactate-shuttle hypothesis. Submitted J. Neuroscience.

Erlichman, J.S., Putnam, R.W. and Leiter, J.C., 2007. Glial modulation of neuronal activity in the brainstem. In : Integration in Respiratory Control - from Genes to Systems (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Series). Eds: M.J. Poulin and R.J.A. Wilson. Springer Publishers, New York . (ISBN-13: 978-0-387-73692-1).

Trentini, John F. III, French, L. and J.S. Erlichman. 2006 .The antinociceptive effect of salvinorin A in mice. European Journal of Pharmacology, 545: 129-133.

Ritucci, N.A., J.S. Erlichman, J.C. Leiter and R.W. Putnam.  2005. Response of membrane potential and intracellular pH to hypercapnia in neurons and astrocytes from rat retrotrapezoid nucleus.  Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol  289: R851-R861.

Putnam, Robert W., Susan C. Conrad, M.J. Gdovin, Joseph S. Erlichman and J.C. Leiter.  2005.  Neonatal maturation of the hypercapnic ventilatory response and central neural CO2 chemosensitivity.  Resp. Physiol. Neurobiol. 149: 165-179.

 Trentini, John F. III, Thompson, B., Erlichman, J.S. (2005). The antinociceptive effect of acupressure in rats. In press American Journal of Chinese Medicine 33(1): 143-150.

Hewitt, A, Barrie, R., Graham, M., Bogus, K ., Leiter, J,C. and Erlichman, J.S. (2004). Ventilatory effects of gap junction blockade in the RTN in awake rats. In press American Journal of Physiology 287:R1407-R1418

Parisian, K., Wages, P., Smith, A., Jarosz, J., Hewitt, A. , Leiter, J.C., and Erlichman, J.S. (2004) Ventilatory effects of gap junction blockade in the NTS in awake rats. Journal of Respiration Physiology and Neurobiology 142:127-143

Erlichman, J.S., Cook, A., Schwab, M., Budd, T. and Leiter, J.C. (2003). Heterogeneity of pH regulation in medullary glia. American Journal of Physiology, 286(2):R289-302

Dean, J.B., Ballantyne, D., Cardone, D., Erlichman, J.S. and Solomon, I.C. (2002) Role of gap junctions in CO 2 chemoreception and respiratory control. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 283(4):L665-70.

Nottingham , S ., Leiter, J.C., Wages, P.L ., Buhay, S . and Erlichman, J.S. (2001) Developmental changes in intracellular pH regulation in medullary glia. American Journal of Physiology, 281:R1940-R1951

Holleran, J.L ., Babbie, M. and Erlichman, J.S. (2001) The ventilatory effects of impaired glial function in a brain stem chemoreceptor region in the conscious rat. J. Appl. Physiol., 90: 1539-1547.

Erlichman, J.S., Li.,A., and Nattie, E.E. (1998) The ventilatory effects of glial dysfunction in a rat brainstem chemoreceptor region, J. Appl. Physiol., 85: 1599-1604 .

Nattie, E.E., Erlichman, J.S. and Li, A. (1998) Brainstem lesion size determined by DEAD RED or conjugation of neurotoxin to fluorescent beads, J. Appl. Physiol., 85: 2370-2375 A.

Lu, D.C ., Erlichman, J.S., and Leiter, J.C. (1998) Diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) inhibits CO 2 chemosensitivity in Helix aspersa, Respiration Physiology, 111:65-78

Erlichman, J.S, Leiter, J.C (1997) Comparative aspects of central CO 2 chemoreception, Respiration Physiology, 110: 177-185

Bold lettering denotes undergraduate author.

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