Investigating how endogenous and exogenous opioids affect mechanisms of respiratory control

Chart showing effect of increasing opioids on breathing rhythm The neurons that control breathing express opioid receptors that allow them to respond to endogenous endorphins, but also render them highly vulnerable to exogenous opioid-based analgesics and drugs of abuse. As a result, clinical and illicit use of opioids often lead to life-threatening, and difficult to predict, opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD). Our lab is working to understand how the natural and pharmacologic activation of opioid receptors affects breathing networks to inspire new therapeutic strategies to prevent or reverse OIRD without eliminating the beneficial pain-killing effects of these drugs.

Other Projects

Decoding the origins of breathing

Breathing is driven by the coordinated activity of neurons in the brainstem, which continues to produce respiratory rhythms even when separated from the rest of the brain. We investigate the specific cell types and their properties and interactions that allow this network to produce rhythm.

Identifying neural circuits that integrate breathing with behavior and emotion

We are working to identify the neural circuits and mechanisms that mediate state-dependent control and allow breathing to conditionally dissociate from its underlying automatic regulation.