Anna Lysakowski

Assistant Professor

Anatomy and Cell Biology

Structure and function in the vestibular system

Using the vestibular system as a model for sensory processing, I am investigating how sensory information is perceived, some mechanisms by which these signals are transduced, and how the brain controls this incoming information. The research extends from the cellular level (i.e., how do hair cells detect head movements and convert these movements to nerve signals) to the systems level (i.e., how do afferents transmit information to the brain and can the brain control this incoming information?)

Structure and function are being investigated in three projects.

• The development and structure of hair cells and how this changes with sensory stimulation. We are examining the development of certain ionic channels that characterize specific hair cell types. One question is how do these ionic channels work to produce the signal processing seen on the afferent level? Also, can the activity of a hair cell influence its synaptic elements?
• Physiological characterization of individual vestibular nerve fibers. The goal is to correlate the physiology of three different classes of afferents with the types of contacts they make.
• Vestibular efferents are neurons in the brainstem that project to the ear. What is the anatomical and neurochemical organization of these neurons with respect to their origins in the brain and their terminations in the periphery? What are the inputs to these neurons, i.e., to what type of commands do efferents themselves respond?

Publications:

1. Rusch, A., A. Lysakowski, and R.A. Eatock.. Postnatal development of type I and II hair cells in the mouse utricle: Acquisition of voltage gated conductances and differentiated morphology. Manuscript in preparation.

2. Lysakowski, A., A. Rusch and R.A. Eatock. (1996). Postnatal morphological differentiation of type I and type II hair cells of the mouse utricle, Soc. Neurosci. Abstr., Submitted.

3. Lysakowski, A. (1996). Morphometric criteria for hair cell types. Abstr. Vestibular Compensation Satellite Meeting to Barany Society Mtg., Submitted.

4. Lysakowski, A. (1996). A comparative study of the synaptic organization of the crista ampullares in vertebrates. Ann,. NY Acad. Sci. 781:164-182.

5. Singer, M. and A. Lysakowski (1996). Nitric oxide synthase localized in a subpopulation of vestibular efferents with NADPH diaphorase histochemistry. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 781:658-662.

6. Jacobson, L. and A. Lysakowski (1996). Peripherin localized in a subclass of vestibular afferents in chinchilla and rat with immunohistochemical techniques. ARO 19th Midwinter Meeting Abstr., p. 173.

7. Lysakowski, A., L.B. Minor, C. Fernandez and J.M. Goldberg (1995). Physiological identification of morphologically distinct afferent classes innervating the cristae ampullares of the squirrel monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 73:1270-1281.

8. Fernandez, C., A. Lysakowski and J.M. Goldberg. (1995). Hair cell counts and afferent innervation patterns in the cristae ampullares of the squirrel monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 73:1253-1269.

9. Lysakowski, A. and J.M. Goldberg (1993). Regional variations in the synaptic organization of the squirrel monkey cristae. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 19:1578.

For more information, contact aLysakow@uic.edu