Ronald M. Harper, Ph.D.

Ronald Harper, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor, and Professor, Neurobiology Professor, Neurobiology Member, Brain Research Institute CTSI Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology GPB Home Area Neuroscience GPB Home Area

0000-0001-6469-9429

310-825-5303

UCLA Neurobiology
695 Charles Young Dr S
BOX 951763, Suite 78-113 BRI
Los Angeles, CA 90095
UNITED STATES

Website

Biography

The laboratory examines neural mechanisms underlying sleep state: control of breathing, somatomotor activity, and cardiovascular action in developing and adult small animal preparations. Neural mechanisms are examined through neurophysiologic techniques which include assessment of intrinsic optical changes in neural tissue, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and chronic single neuron recording; the optical imaging and cell recording studies are often combined with microdialysis techniques to determine neurochemical mechanisms underlying cell action. We found that a substantial portion of sleep effects on normal and disordered breathing result from rostral brain influences on pontine and medullary structures, that activity over wide areas of these structures can be visualized during ventilatory and pressor challenges in freely behaving animals, and that immature development of mechanisms controlling descending rostral brain influences on breathing can place the organism at risk.

Publications