Jeffrey A. Boychuk, PhD

Research interests

• Neocortical Control of the Somatic Motor System.
• Motor Recovery Following Stroke.
• Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Epileptogenesis.
• Somatic Motor System Biology in Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias.

Research summary

Jeffery Boychuk’s research program studies long-term physiology of cortical systems in acquired brain injuries and disease. The 3 research themes of the laboratory are Stroke, Post-Traumatic Epilepsy, in addition to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Related Dementias (AD/RDs). The injured brain exhibits dramatic remodeling biology that spans subcellular-to-cell macro-system domains in ways that dictate responsiveness to treatment. Accordingly, this research team performs mechanistic studies to identify and test interventional targets for behavioral rehabilitation, pharmacological agents, and electrical stimulation of neural tissue.

Lab staff

• Sidney Moss, BS Biological Engineering, Research Specialist II
• Kyle Kammerer, BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, BMS Graduate Student
• Kate Parris
• Chris Romero

Select publications

• Wolsh C, Brown RM, Brown AR, Pratt III GA, Boychuk JA. Extensive complex neocortical forelimb movement topography devolves to simple output following experimental stroke in mice. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. 2023. 17: 1162664. doi 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1162664. PMID 37350800. ]
• Brown AR, Mitra S, Teskey GC, and Boychuk JA.Complex forelimb movements and cortical topography evoked by intracortical microstimulation in male and female mice. Cerebral Cortex. 2023. 33:1866-1875. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhac178. PMID: 35511684.
• Boychuk JA, Palmer LA, Farrell JS, Pittman, QJ, Teskey, GC. HCN channels segregate stimulation-evoked movement responses in neocortex and allow for coordinated forelimb movements in rodents. The Journal of Physiology. 2017. 595:247-263. doi: 10.1113/JP273068. PMID: 27568501.
• Scullion K, Boychuk JA, Yamakawa GR, Rodych JT, Nakanishi ST, Seto A, Smith VM, McCarthy RW, Whelan PJ, Antle MC, Pittman QJ, Teskey GC. Serotonin 1A receptors alter expression of movement representations. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2013. 33: 4988-4999. doi: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4241-12.2013. PMID: 23486969.
• Adkins D, Boychuk JA, Remple M, and Kleim JA. Motor training induces experience-specific patterns of plasticity across motor cortex and spinal cord. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2006. 101: 1776- 1782. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00515.2006. PMID: 16959909.