B.S. in Biology, Dickinson College, 2000
The laboratory of Dr. Eugene Nattie and Dr. Aihua Li have previously shown that neurons within the medullary raphe are chemosensitive; that is, these neurons have the ability to alter respiration in the whole animal in the face of a focalized increase in tissue CO2. Other researchers in the field of central chemoreception have since proved that the neurons within the medullary raphe that increase their firing rates in the presence of increased CO2 are serotonergic. Natalie is currently conducting her thesis research on the role of serotonergic function within the medullary raphe with regards to how this region "senses" a CO2 stress and modulates ventilation to cope with this stress. By focally altering different functional parameters of serotonin-containing neurons in the medullary raphe, Natalie then measures the ventilatory response to increased environmental CO2 in a fully conscious freely-behaving rat model. Although her research is primarily exploring the functional aspects of chemosensitive serotonergic neurons within the medullary raphe and their role in ventilation, Natalie's research can also be considered clinically. Anatomical studies from brainstems of newborn victims of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have shown a common pathology in several regions of the medulla, including the serotonergic neurons of the medullary raphe. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that a serotonergic defect within the medullary raphe may contribute to the tragedy of SIDS deaths.