We study how the brain monitors body hydration, salt and temperature. We seek to define how networks of thermosensitive and osmosensitive neurons work together with clock neurons and astrocytes to regulate body temperature, thirst, vasopressin release and vascular tone. Defects in osmoregulation are hallmarks of many clinical conditions, including dehydration, heart failure, MDMA toxicity and traumatic brain injury. Moreover, changes in osmoregulation likely link dietary salt intake to many forms of hypertension. Some topics we study:

Mechanisms of sodium detection, thermosensation and osmoreception
Signaling between neurons and glia
Clock neurons & circadian rhythms
Control of burst firing
Cytoskeleton and mechanosensation
Osmo/thermoregulatory circuits