Professor
Anatomy and Neurobiology
Otolaryngology
Email Website Contact Info More Publications
Our research addresses the neural mechanisms that govern the perception of motion and the compensatory production of motor responses. We are also keenly interested in the related issue of vestibular plasticity that occurs with introduction to novel motion environments, such as the adaptations experienced in microgravity during spaceflight. Our work encompasses a multidisciplinary approach, where anatomical, cellular, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques are used to characterize vestibular system function.
We are currently involved in three major projects. First, we are investigating the vestibular system in birds undergoing regeneration following complete receptor cell loss and denervation through treatment with ototoxic antibiotics (streptomycin). We wish to determine how and at what time the topographic receptor pattern is generated and how the re-innervating afferents choose their receptor targets. This project will additionally examine the physiology of regenerating afferents during reinnervation, as well as the developing behavioral organization of the vestibuloocular and vestibulocollic responses.
The second major project examines the synthesis of motion information and spatial orientation. How does the CNS combine multisensory information into a neural construct representing directional motion? Electrophysiological recordings using electrode arrays from motion sensitive neurons along the neuraxis are being performed in both birds and primates.
Third, we are investigating gravity as a trophic determinant for the development of vestibular receptors and neural organization in embryos and hatchling birds. What changes in the structural and functional elements that comprise movement perception occur when animals develop in microgravity or hypergravity? We are studying the underlying cellular and systems mechanisms associated with these alterations, as compared to animals raised in normal 1g environments. We are currently employing ground-based investigations that can be used as a model preparation for long-term investigations aboard the international space station.
Research Photos (Click to Enlarge)
Research Publications
Haque A, Dickman JD (2005 Mar). Vestibular gaze stabilization: different behavioral strategies for arboreal and terrestrial avians. J Neurophysiol. 93 (3): 1165-73. Full Article >
Angelaki DE, Shaikh AG, Green AM, Dickman JD (2004 Jul 29). Neurons compute internal models of the physical laws of motion. Nature. 430 (6999): 560-4. Full Article >
Dickman JD, Lim I (2004 Sep). Posture, head stability, and orientation recovery during vestibular regeneration in pigeons. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol. 5 (3): 323-36. Full Article >
Dickman JD, Huss D, Lowe M (2004 Feb). Morphometry of otoconia in the utricle and saccule of developing Japanese quail. Hear Res. 188 (1-2): 89-103. Full Article >
Hughes I, Blasiole B, Huss D, Warchol ME, Rath NP, Hurle B, Ignatova E, David Dickman J, Thalmann R, Levenson R, Ornitz DM (2004 Dec 15). Otopetrin 1 is required for otolith formation in the zebrafish Danio rerio. Dev Biol. 276 (2): 391-402. Full Article >
Dickman JD, Angelaki DE (2004 Mar). Dynamics of vestibular neurons during rotational motion in alert rhesus monkeys. Exp Brain Res. 155 (1): 91-101. Full Article >
Contact Info
J. David Dickman, Ph.D.
Office Location: CID 2230 (4560 Clayton Ave)
Office Phone: 314-747-7221
Lab Phone: 314-747-7224
Campus Box: 8108
Fax: 314-747-7206
ddickman@pcg.wustl.edu
http://vestibular.wustl.edu
