Shaoping Hou, PhD

Research interests

• Autonomic dysfunction following spinal cord injury
• Micturition reflexes and cardiovascular disorders
• Neuroendocrine mechanisms of hemodynamics
• Axon regeneration, Cell transplantation, Cell reprogramming
• Exercise and rehabilitation
• Fibrotic scarring in the CNS

Research summary

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) results not only in sensorimotor deficits but also in autonomic dysfunction. The disruption of supraspinal autonomic pathways renders abnormalities in multiple organ systems including compromised urinary, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, thermoregulatory, and sexual activities. We employ multidisciplinary approaches, including neuroanatomical, physiological, as well as cellular and molecular techniques, to elucidate supraspinal and intraspinal neuronal machinery of micturition and hemodynamics in the intact and SCI rat models.

Select publications

• Fernandes S, Oatman E, Weinberger J, Dixon A, Osei-Owusu P, Hou S. The susceptibility of cardiac arrhythmias after spinal cord crush injury in rats. Experimental Neurology Aug 8; 357:114200 (2022). PMID: 35952765
• Hou S, DeFinis JH, Daugherty SL, Tang C, Weinberger J, de Groat WC. Deciphering spinal endogenous dopaminergic mechanisms that modulate micturition reflexes in rats with spinal cord injury. eNeuro 8(4): 0157-21 (2021). PMID: 34244339
• DeFinis JH, Hou S. Dual-pseudorabies viral tracing for spinal tyrosine hydroxylase interneurons involved in segmental micturition reflex circuitry in spinal cord injured rats. Neurotrauma Report. 2(1):660-668 (2021). PMID: 35018366
• Qiao Y, Brodnik ZD, Zhao S, Trueblood CT, Li Z, Tom VJ, España RA, Hou S. Spinal dopaminergic mechanisms regulating the micturition reflex in male rats with complete spinal cord injury. Journal of Neurotrauma 38(6):803-817 (2021). PMID: 33297828
• Zhao S, DeFinis JH, Hou S. Alterations of dopamine-related transcripts in A11 diencephalospinal pathways after spinal cord injury. Neural Plasticity. (2021). PMID: 33510781