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John H. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology E-mail: anders00@umn.edu

Research Interests:

We study the neural mechanisms underlying the control of balance and spatial orientation. The broad objectives are: 1) to define strategies used by the central nervous system (CNS) for controlling gaze and posture; and 2) to characterize the interaction in the CNS among signals dependent on the motion and gravity sensors in the inner ear and vision.

Experimental protocols for human subjects and animals use a multi-axis rotator and a movable force platform. Experiments with humans involve both normal subjects and those with inner ear or CNS diseases, the latter including the autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias. We take measurements of the eyes, head, and body position and orientation during rotation of the subject and/or the visual surrounding, and during movement of the surface on which the subject stands. One animal project uses rats to study the neurochemical changes in the CNS that accompany compensation for inner ear disease and to correlate the neurochemistry with the activity of single neurons. Another animal project uses transgenic mice that carry an ataxia gene. The aim is to quantify the movement deficits and to correlate them with the pattern and time course of neurodegeneration due to different ataxia genes and their promoters. Mathematical modeling uses techniques of control systems analysis and neural networks to provide a conceptual framework for the experimental results and to predict possible mechanisms whereby the CNS can adapt to changes in the environment, such as micro-gravity, that can affect movement and posture.

Selected Publications:

Engel KC, Anderson JH, Gomez CM, Soechting JF. Deficits in ocular and manual tracking due to episodic ataxia type 2. Mov Disord. 2004 Jul;19(7):778-87.

Engle, KC, Anderson, JH, Soechting, JF. Oculomotor Tracking in Two Dimensions. J Neurophysiol 81:1597-1602, 1999.

Gomez, CM, Thompson, RM, Gammack, JT, Perlman, SL, Dobyns, WB, Truwit, CL, Zee, DS, Clark, HB, Anderson, JH. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6: Gaze-evoked and vertical nystagmus, Purkinje cell degeneration, and variable age of onset. Ann Neurol, 42:993-950, 1997.

Nelson, S.R., R.P. DiFabio, and J.H. Anderson. 1995. Vestibular and sensory interaction deficits assessed by dynamic platform posturography in patients with multiple sclerosis. Annals of Otology, Rhinology, Laryngology 104:62-68.

Recent Graduate Students

Chao Young Lee (Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, 1993; parallel, distributed neural network modeling of the vestibular system). Research Scientist with private company.

Galen Kaufman (Ph.D., Veterinary Biology, 1993; neurochemistry of the vestibular system). Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Adrian Perachio, University of Texas, Galveston.