MAC DERMOTT, AMY B., Ph.D. Professor of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics and of Neuroscience Regulation of synaptic transmission in the superficial dorsal horn. Office: Black Building| 11th floor | Room 1109 Telephone: 212.305.3889 Email:amy.macdermott@columbia.edu

Current Research

Detection of different sensory modalities in the skin, such as touch, temperature, itch and pain, begins with peripheral sensory neurons that provide the connection between skin and the central nervous system. The MacDermott laboratory has focused on the spinal circuitry in the dorsal horn that receives input from these peripheral sensory neurons and maintains appropriate separation of the different sensory modalities in a healthy animal. We have also investigated physiological properties of motor neurons and other neuronal populations derived from mouse and human stem cells. Our primary approach to these studies has been through use of electrophysiology and calcium imaging. We are currently running a new facility that is part of the new Columbia Stem Cell Core Facility and are offering electrophysiology and calcium imaging as well as training for those techniques.

Selected Publications

Tong, CK, MacDermott, AB Synaptic GluN2A and GluN2B containing NMDA receptors within the superficial dorsal horn activated following primary afferent stimulation. J Neuroscience, 34, 10808-10820, 2014.

Bardoni R, Tawfik VL, Wang D, François A, Solorzano C, Shuster SA, Choudhury P, Betelli C, Cassidy C, Smith K, de Nooij JC, Mennicken F, O’Donnell D, Kieffer BL, Woodbury CJ, Basbaum AI, MacDermott AB, Scherrer G. Delta Opioid Receptors Presynaptically Regulate Cutaneous Mechanosensory Neuron Input to the Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn. Neuron, 81, 1-16 2014.

Fénelon K, Xu B, Lai CS, Mukai J, Markx S, Stark KL, Hsu PK, Gan WB, Fischbach GD, MacDermott AB,Karayiorgou M, Gogos JA. The pattern of cortical dysfunction in a mouse model of a schizophrenia-related microdeletion. J Neurosci 33(37):14825-39, 2013.

Bardoni R, Takazawa T, Tong CK, Choudhury P, Scherrer G, MacDermott AB, Pre-and postsynaptic inhibitory control in the spinal cord dorsal horn. Ann N Y Acad Sci. Mar;1279:90-6, 2013.

Takazawa T, Croft GF, Amoroso MW, Studer L, Wichterle H, Macdermott AB Maturation of spinal motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells. PLoS One. 7(7):e40154, 2012.

Kvajo M, McKellar H, Drew LJ, Lepagnol-Bestel AM, Xiao L, Levy RJ, Blazeski R, Arguello PA, Lacefield CO, Mason CA, Simonneau M, O'Donnell JM, Macdermott AB, Karayiorgou M, Gogos JA Altered axonal targeting and short-term plasticity in the hippocampus of Disc1 mutant mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 108: E1349-58, 2011

Joseph DJ, Williams DJ, Macdermott AB Modulation of neurite outgrowth by activation of calcium-permeable kainate receptors expressed by rat nociceptive-like dorsal root ganglion neurons. Dev Neurobiol. 71(10):818-35, 2011.

Gangadharan V, Wang R, Ulzhofer B, Luo C, Bardoni R, Bali KK, Agarwal N, Tegeder I, Hildebrandt U, Nagy GG, Todd AJ, Ghirri A, Haussler A, Sprengel R, Seeburg PH, Macdermott AB, Lewin GR, Kuner R Peripheral calcium-permeable AMPA receptors regulate chronic inflammatory pain in mice. J Clin Invest. 121(4):1608-23. doi: 10.1172/JCI44911. Epub 2011

Fenelon K, Mukai J, Xu B, Hsu PK, Drew LJ, Karayiorgou M, Fischbach GD, Macdermott AB, Gogos JA Deficiency of Dgcr8, a gene disrupted by the 22q11.2 microdeletion, results in altered short-term plasticity in the prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 108(11):4447-52, 2011.

Boulting GL, Kiskinis E, Croft GF, Amoroso MW, Oakley DH, Wainger BJ, Williams DJ, Kahler DJ, Yamaki M, Davidow L, Rodolfa CT, Dimos JT, Mikkilineni S, MacDermott AB, Woolf CJ, Henderson CE, Wichterle H, Eggan K. A functionally characterized test set of human induced pluripotent stem cells. Nat Biotechnol. 29(3):279-86. 2011.