REBECCA A. PROSSER, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Address

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

M313 Walters Life Science Building

Knoxville, TN 37996-0810

Tel: (423) 974-5148; Fax: (423) 974-6306;

Education

Ph.D. Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL

Postdoctoral: Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Research Interests

All organisms share the characteristics that their behavior and physiology fluctuate over the course of the 24 hours day. These daily, or circadian, rhythms are controlled by clocks endogenous to the organisms, and they normally are synchronized to the external environment by the daily solar cycle. Research in my laboratory explores the cellular basis of mammalian circadian rhythms. The mammalian circadian clock is located in an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. While much is known about the cell types in this region and the areas of the brain that send it information, the mechanisms involved in producing these rhythms remain obscure. My research is focused on both the cellular processes involved in rhythm production as well as how the clock is modulated by other brain regions. The primary approach I have used for these studies is to study the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus after isolation in a brain slice preparation. The techniques used in these studies include electrophysiological, neuropharmacology, and radioimmunoassay. An increased understanding of how the clock works and how it can be manipulated should help alleviate problems associated with circadian clock dysfunction (including some sleep and manic depressive disorders) and with clock desynchronization (which occurs during jet lab and with shift work schedules).

Links

Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology - Rebecca A. Prosser

Recent Publications

• Mou X, Peterson CB, Prosser RA. Tissue-type plasminogen activator-plasmin-BDNF modulate glutamate-induced phase-shifts of the mouse suprachiasmatic circadian clock in vitro. Eur J Neurosci. 2009 Oct;30(8):1451-60. Epub 2009 Oct 7. PMID: 19811533
• Prosser RA, Glass JD. The Mammalian Circadian Clock Exhibits Acute Tolerance to Ethanol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2009 Sep 9; [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19740133
• McElroy B, Zakaria A, Glass JD, Prosser RA. Ethanol modulates mammalian circadian clock phase resetting through extrasynaptic gaba receptor activation. Neuroscience. 2009 Dec 1;164(2):842-8. Epub 2009 Aug 18. PMID: 19695310
• Ruby CL, Brager AJ, DePaul MA, Prosser RA, Glass JD. Chronic ethanol attenuates circadian photic phase resetting and alters nocturnal activity patterns in the hamster. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 Sep;297(3):R729-37. Epub 2009 Jun 24. PMID: 19553498
• Ruby CL, Prosser RA, DePaul MA, Roberts RJ, Glass JD. Acute ethanol impairs photic and nonphotic circadian phase resetting in the Syrian hamster. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 Feb;296(2):R411-8. Epub 2008 Dec 10. PMID: 19073899
• Prosser RA, Mangrum CA, Glass JD. Acute ethanol modulates glutamatergic and serotonergic phase shifts of the mouse circadian clock in vitro. Neuroscience. 2008 Mar 27;152(3):837-48. Epub 2008 Jan 29. PMID: 18313227

view complete list of references (pubmed link)