Jun Lu: Research
Jun Lu, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Neurology, working on identifying pathways and neurotransmitters involved in sleep state switching, as well as the long-term behavioral effects of sleep disruption.
Education
Forth Military Medical University (China) MD 1984
Institute of Space Medico-Engineering (China) MS 1988
Texas A & M University PhD 1994
Current research interests:
1. Circadian control of sleep-wake cycle and body temperature. I am particularly interested in circadian outflow from the suprachiasmatic nucleus to the sub-paraventricular zone and the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus in regulating locomotion, sleep, the body temperature and endocrine system.
2. Dopamine control of arousal. Identification of wake-active dopaminergic cells in the PAG, their connectivity. I am also examining whether the PAG dopaminergic cells mediate arousal induced by dopamine transporter such as (amphetamine) and if these dopaminergic neurons are degenerated in Parkinson's disease.
3. Sleep-wake and analgesic mechanism underlying general anesthetics (GABA agonist and NMDA antagonist). Collaborating with our collages in Denmark and England, we have been investigating how anesthetics control sleep-wake states and how they control analgesia.
4. Pontine flip-flop switch for REM sleep. I am focusing on finding location of the REM-off and the REM-on cells in pontine regmentum, their interaction and how REM-on cells control REM sleep behavioral components, i.e., neocortical desynchronization, hippocampal theta oscillation, and atonia.
