REESE S. SCROGGS, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine

Address

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

855 Monroe Avenue, Suite 515

Memphis, TN 38163

Tel: (901) 448-7470; Fax: (901) 448-7193;

Lab: 306 Link Building

Education

Ph.D. Institution: University of Illinois, Chicago, Department of Pharmacological Sciences

Research Interests

This lab is studying how serotonin (5HT), released from varicosities over large areas of the brain and spinal cord, could have differential effects on various neural pathways. For example 5HT secreted into the spinal cord can selectively suppress pain transmission from the periphery to the CNS, leaving reflex and proprioception pathways intact. In many areas, 5HT is distributed as a diffuse gradient rather than being localized at discrete synapses. Thus, individual neurons may depend on local mechanisms to synthesize signals necessary for the proper functioning of the neural circuits in which they participate. Such local mechanisms may include expression of different 5HT receptor subtypes coupled to different ion channels. Then the effects of 5HT release on a neuron's excitability would vary depending on which 5HT receptor subtype(s) it expressed.

Presently the lab is studying ion channel coupling to 5HT receptor subtypes in subpopulations of acutely isolated adult rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, using the whole cell patch clamp technique and single channel recordings. Subpopulations of DRG neurons have been detected based on variations in the expression of a battery of ion currents and sensitivity to capsaicin. We are also developing other methods to differentiate between DRG neurons based on where they terminate in the spinal cord and which peripheral tissue they innervate, using fluorescent tracers and antibodies against different membrane surface antigens.

Recent Publications

• Scroggs RS. Evidence of a physiological role for use-dependent inactivation of NaV1.8 sodium channels. J Physiol. 2008 Feb 15;586(4):923. No abstract available. PMID: 18287386
• Tripathi PK, Trujillo L, Cardenas CA, Cardenas CG, de Armendi AJ, Scroggs RS. Analysis of the variation in use-dependent inactivation of high-threshold tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium currents recorded from rat sensory neurons. Neuroscience. 2006 Dec 28;143(4):923-38. Epub 2006 Oct 4. PMID: 17027172
• Cardenas CA, Cardenas CG, de Armendi AJ, Scroggs RS. Carbamazepine interacts with a slow inactivation state of NaV1.8-like sodium channels. Neurosci Lett. 2006 Nov 13;408(2):129-34. Epub 2006 Sep 15. PMID: 16978779
• Durante P, Cardenas CG, Whittaker JA, Kitai ST, Scroggs RS. Low-threshold L-type calcium channels in rat dopamine neurons. J Neurophysiol. 2004 Mar;91(3):1450-4. Epub 2003 Nov 26. PMID: 14645383
• d'Alcantara P, Cardenas LM, Swillens S, Scroggs RS. Reduced transition between open and inactivated channel states underlies 5HT increased I(Na+) in rat nociceptors. Biophys J. 2002 Jul;83(1):5-21. PMID: 12080097
• Scroggs RS, Cardenas CG, Whittaker JA, Kitai ST. Muscarine reduces calcium-dependent electrical activity in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons. J Neurophysiol. 2001 Dec;86(6):2966-72. PMID: 11731553

view complete list of references (pubmed link)