Nicole L. Nichols, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Pathobiology and Integrative Biomedical Sciences

Adjunct Professor

Department of Medical Pharmocology and Physiology

Research Interests

Breathing, Swallowing, Swallowing-Breathing Coordination, Hypoxia, Plasticity, and Motor Neuron Death

Research Description

The primary focus of our laboratory concerns mechanisms of neuroplasticity and its potential for inducing preservation and/or improvement of respiratory and swallowing function and coordination following motor neuron loss and/or degeneration.

Selected Publications

  1. Ketabforoush, A.,* Wang, M.,* Smith, C.L., Arnold, W.D.,# Nichols, N.L.# Assessing Rat Diaphragm Motor Unit Connectivity Outcome Measures as Quantitative Biomarkers of Phrenic Motor Neuron Degeneration and Compensation. Accepted at JoVE. *=co-first authors, contributed equally; #=co-corresponding authors
  2. Lever, T.E.,* Kloepper, A., Welby, L., Haney, M., Fudge, S., Seiller, C., Kington, S., Ballenger, B., Nichols, N.L. (2023). Minimally Invasive Murine Laryngoscopy for Close-Up Imaging of Laryngeal Motion during Breathing and Swallowing. JoVE Dec 1 (202). PMID: 38108389; PMCID: in progress.
  3. Murphy, E.R., Thompson, R., Osman, K.L., Haxton, C., Brothers, M., Lee, L., Warncke, K., Smith, C.L., Keilholz, A.N., Hamad, A., Golzy, M., Bunyak, F., Ma, L., Nichols, N.L.,* and Lever T.E.* (2022). A strength endurance exercise paradigm mitigates deficits in hypoglossal-tongue axis function, strength, and structure in a rodent model of hypoglossal motor neuron degeneration. Frontiers in Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.869592. PMCID: PMC9279620.
  4. Mueller, M., Thompson, R., Osman, K.L., Andel, E., DeJonge, C.A., Kington, S., Stephenson, Z., Hamad, A., Bunyak, F., Nichols, N.L., and Lever, T.E.* (2022). Impact of Limb Phenotype on Tongue Denervation Atrophy, Dysphagia Penetrance, and Survival Time in a Mouse Model of ALS. Dysphagia 37(6): 1777-1795. PMCID: PMC9568622.
  5. Borkowski, L.F., Keilholz, A.N., Smith, C.L., Canda, K.A., and Nichols, N.L.* (2022). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (ketoprofen) delivery differentially impacts phrenic long-term facilitation in rats with motor neuron death induced by intrapleural CTB-SAP injections. Exper. Neurol. 347:113892. PMCID: PMC10805451.
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