Science Faculty: Thomas I. Nathaniel, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Physiology

email: tnathaniel@marywood.edu
website: http://ac.marywood.edu/tmnathaniel/

Educational background:
PhD (Neuroscience) International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr University of Bochum Germany Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA

Research Interest:
Our research interest is in System Neuroscience. The overall goal is to bridge the gap between behavioral issues, clinical and basic neuroscience research. We emphasize on integrated and interdisciplinary neuroscientific methods. We use a variety of approaches including Neuroethology, Neuroanatomy, Neurobiology, Neuropharmacological and Physiological experiments. The first objective is to understand brain mechanisms that are involved in neuroprotection that can in turn, be translated into the clinical management of traumatic brain injury and hypoxia-associated insults following onset of stroke. Particularly, we are interested in the interacting central regulating mechanisms of hypoxia tolerance in natural genetic systems. Second, we focus on neurobiology of drug addiction. We are particularly interested in the neurochemical mechanisms that underlie simpler animal systems in showing behavioral senzitization and reward to mammalian drugs of abuse, and the role of 'early genes' as it relates to neuroadaptations in learning and memory processes during drug addiction. Our expertise include animal brain surgical techniques, chronic cannulae implantations, chemical and electrolytic lesioning techniques, neurohistology, Neuroanatomy, immunohistochemistry, and the design of animal physiological and behavioral experiments.

Recent and Selected Publications:

i. Nathaniel I.T., Umesiri F., Reifler G., Fisher C., Haley K. Dziopa L., Glukhoy J., Dani R. (2009)
Hypoxia neuroprotective mechanisms in natural genetic systems:therapeutic clues for hypoxia-induced brain injuries. Brain Research Bulletin. In review.

ii. Nathaniel I.T. Panksep J, and Huber R .(2009) Effects of a single and repeated morphine treatment on conditioned and unconditioned behavioral sensitization in Crayfish. Behavioral Brain Research. In review.

iii. Nathaniel I.T. Panksep J, and Huber R .(2009) Drug-seeking behavior in an invertebrate system: evidence of morphine-induced reward, extinction and reinstatement in crayfish. Behavioral Brain Research,197,331-338.

iv. Nathaniel, I.T. Saras,A. and Umesiri (2009). Tolerance to oxygen nutrient deprivation in the hippocampal slices of the naked mole rats. J.Integr neurosci. 4; 123-136.

v. Nathaniel, I.T. (2008) Brain Metabolic suppression characteristic as neuroprotective during prenatal and perinatal hypoxia ischemia. Inter.J.Stroke 3, (2) 43-55

vi. Nathaniel I.T., Saras,A. and Umesiri (2009) esiri, F. Olajuyigbe, A.O.(2008) Effect of neuropharmacological manipulations of central M1 receptor on locomotion behavior of mole-rats, J.Integr neurosci. 3, 1-16

vii. Nathaniel, I.T. Olajuyigbe, Aremu, O and Christopher, C. (2008) Central manipulation of the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor in the African mole-rat: Ethological analysis of complex locomotor activity. Behav. Neurosci. Res.6, 1-9.

viii Akanni Akinyemi, Olusina Bamiwuye, Thomas I Nathaniel, Adesegun Fatusi (2008) The Nigerian Aging Males' Symptons Scales. Journal of Aging Male, 1-5

ix. Nathaniel I.T. Olajuyigbe,A.O. and Murphy A. (2007) Integrative focus on dynamic factors and age hierarchy in the expression of aggression. Central European journal of Biology, 3,433-448.

x. Nathaniel I.T., Olajuyigbe, A.O. and Nathaniel,2006) Comparative analysis of attack and
defense among higher brains. Central European journal of Biology 1(2) 249 - 262.
xi. Nathaniel I.T., Güntürkün O, Manns M. Troje N., (2004) Efference copy the motoric command for
head-bobbing. European Neuropsychopharmacology 4, suppl. 1, 34-35
Manuscripts in preparation

xiii. Nathaniel I.T. The effect of environmental manipulations in altering morphine-induced behavioral senzitization and reward in Crayfish

xiii. Nathaniel, I.T. and Umesiri F. Physiological bioindicators of hypoxia tolerance as clues for neuroprotection.