Galen D. Kaufman, DVM, PhD

Ø 1987 – B.S. – cum laude – Veterinary Science, Kansas State University

Ø 1989 – D.V.M. – cum laude – Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Ø 1993 – Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Department of Veterinary Biology

Ø Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology

Ø Member Cell Biology Graduate Program

Contact Information:

Phone: 409-772-2723 (lab and voicemail)

Fax: 409-772-5893

Email: gdkaufma@utmb.edu

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES:

Areas of Interest:

Galen Kaufman is interested in the molecular basis of sensorimotor plasticity at the systems level. His thesis work focused on the expression of immediate early genes (inducible transcription factors, ITFs) in the rat following unilateral vestibular lesion, or periods of hypergravity on a small centrifuge. These findings offered new hypotheses on the mechanism and location of neurons in the brainstem that could be responsible for behavioral adaptation.

Galen has applied neuroanatomical (including virus tracing) and electrophsiological methods to demonstrate simple convergent signal properties related to otolith, semicircular canal and visual inputs in the brainstem. Another series of experiments where antisense oligonucleotides were injected into the prepositus region prior to unilateral vestibular lesion demonstrated that at least one of the ITF proteins, Fos, correlates with the amount of behavioral turning following the lesion.

Galen also continues collaborations with NASA Johnson Space Center. Performing human experiments using posturography and the Short-Arm Centrifuge, he and others were able to show that a hypergravity stimulus (similar to that applied during his rodent experiments) causes temporary perceptual and postural offsets in human subjects that were related to the orientation and magnitude of the gravito-inertial stimulus vector. More recent work begins to explore the neuronal basis of canal cross-coupling and Coriolis inputs. These findings have implications in the development of countermeasures, including artificial gravity, for the manned space program.

Dr. Kaufman’s current research continues to explore the relationships between ITFs and vestibulo-ocular adaptation in rodents. A four-axis centrifuge and rodent video-oculography system accommodates these studies. In combination with mapping of ITF changes following novel motion stimuli, and microarray investigations of local brainstem neuron populations, the circuitry and cascade of vestibular-related compensation and adaptation will be better defined.

Figure Legend:

Left: A photomicrograph showing Fos protein expression in medial vestibular neurons (green nuclei) after unilateral ear damage, with a subset projecting to the opposite side of the brain (red tracer).

Right: The binocular horizontal eye response 3 hours after unilateral ear damage. Sine rotation toward the affected ear has a lower reflex gain (left lower quadrant).

Selected Publications:

Kaufman, G.D., Anderson, J.H., and Beitz, A.J.. Activation of a specific vestibulo-olivary pathway following centripetal acceleration in the rat. Brain Research. 562(2): 311-317, 1991.

Kaufman, G.D., Anderson, J.H. and Beitz, A.J.. Brainstem Fos expression following unilateral labyrinthectomy in the rat. NeuroReport. 3(10): 829-832, 1992.

Kaufman, G.D., Anderson, J.H., and Beitz, A.J. Fos-defined activity in rat brainstem following centripetal acceleration. Journal of Neuroscience. 12(11): 4489-4500, 1992.

Kaufman, G.D., Anderson, J.H., and Beitz, A.J. Otolith-brain stem connectivity - evidence for differential neural activation by vestibular hair cells based on quantification of Fos expression in unilateral labyrinthectomized rats. J. Neurophysiol. 70(1): 117-127, 1993.

Kaufman, G.D., Anderson, J.H., and Beitz, A.J. Hemilabyrinthectomy Causes Both an Increase and a Decrease in Corticotropin Releasing Factor mRNA in Rat Inferior Olive. Neurosci. Lett. 165(1-2):144-148, 1994.

Kaufman, G.D., and Perachio, A.A. Translabyrinth Electrical Stimulation for the Induction of Immediate Early Genes in the Gerbil Brainstem. Brain Research. 646: 345-350, 1994.

Kaufman, G.D., M.J. Mustari, M.J., Miselis, R.M., and Perachio, A.A. Transneuronal mapping of the vestibulo-olivo-cerebellar axis. J. Comp. Neurol. 370: 501-523, 1996.

Marshburn, T.H., Kaufman, G.D., Purcell, I.M., and Perachio, A.A. Saccule contribution to immediate early gene induction in the gerbil brainstem with posterior canal galvanic or hypergravity stimulation. Brain Research. 761(1): 51-58, 1997.

Kaufman, G.D., Shinder, M., and Perachio, A.A. Correlation of Fos expression and circling asymmetry during gerbil vestibular compensation. Brain Research Interactive. 817(1,2):246-255, 1998.

Kaufman, G.D., Shinder, M., and Perachio, A.A. Spatiotemporal properties of perihypoglossal neurons in the gerbil. J. Neurophysiol. 83:1958, 2000.

. Shinder, M.E., Purcell, I.M., Kaufman, G.D., and Perachio, A.A. Vestibular efferent neurons project to the flocculus. Brain Research. 889(1-2):288-294, 2001.

Kaufman, G.D., Wood, S., Gianna,, C., Black, F.O., and Paloski, W. Spatial Orientation and Balance Control Changes Induced by Altered Gravito-inertial Force Vectors. Exp. Brain Research 137(3,4):397-410, 2001.

Metts, B.A., Kaufman, G.D., and Perachio, A.A. (2001). Transneuronal labeling from the gerbil labyrinth and cerebral cortex. Submitted, 2001.

Kaufman, G.D. Video-oculography in the Gerbil. Brain Research Interactive (in press).

and Internet guidelines.

Last updated: 05/20/03