Faculty

Peter Smith, PhD
Professor Molecular & Integrative Physiology Director, Mental Retardation Research Center

Research Description

Hormones regulate many aspects of the nervous system. Changes in hormone status that occur during the reproductive cycle, pregnancy and menopause can affect cardiovascular function, pain sensitivity, and nerve regeneration after injury. My research examines how gonadal steroid hormones influences structure and function of sensory and autonomic nerves in the peripheral nervous system. We examine how hormones mediate neuronal plasticity using a number of approaches including immunocytochemistry, cell culture, molecular biology, quantitative microscopy, behavioral analysis, and microarray technology with bioinformatics analysis. Our studies have bearing on a number of important clinical areas including female pain syndromes, nerve repair and post-menopausal hypertension

Representative Publications

Hasan W, Smith HJ, Ting AY, Smith PG. Estrogen alters nerve growth factor receptor expression within sympathetic neurons. Journal of Neurobiology 2005; 65:192-204.

Blacklock AD, Johnson MS, Smith PG. Estrogen increases sensory nociceptor neuritogenesis by a direct, nerve growth factor-independent mechanism. European Journal of Neuroscience 2005; 21:2320-2328.

Smith PG, Bradshaw S. Innervation of the proximal urethra of ovariectomized and estrogen-treated female rats. Histology and Histopathology 2004; 19:1109-1116.

Ting AY, Blacklock AD, Smith PG. Estrogen regulates vaginal sensory and autonomic nerve density in the rat. Biology of Reproduction 2004; 71:1397-404. Epub 2004 Jun 9.

Blacklock AD, Cauveren JA, Smith PG. Estrogen selectively increases sensory nociceptor innervation of arterioles in the female rat. Brain Research 2004; 1018:55-65.

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