The main research interest in the Zielinski Lab is to understand how the nervous system is organized through synaptic connections, and how the flow of information along this pathway can be elevated or suppressed.
The olfactory pathway, which directs our responses to odorants, provides a model for understanding how an environmental stimulus is channeled into the brain, where this information evokes memory or where a motor response is generated.
We are investigating the pathway of neurons that respond to intra-specific chemicals (pheromones) that stimulate reproductive activity. Our study of neurons of the olfactory pathway includes neurons of the terminal nerve (cranial nerve 0), which releases molecules associated with reproduction (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) and with feeding (neuropeptide Y), onto olfactory sensory neurons. Here, our goal is to see the specific regions of the olfactory pathway that receive terminal nerve modulation, and to find how the terminal nerve cells are able to change the activity of the olfactory system. | Dr. Barbara Zielinski
Professor
B.Sc. M.Sc. (Waterloo), Ph.D. (Manitoba)
University of Windsor
Department of Biological Sciences
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, ON N9B 3P4
Phone: 519-253-3000 x2726 or x4770
Fax: 519-971-3609
email: zielin1@uwindsor.ca |
