WILLIAM E. ARMSTRONG, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

Director

Neuroscience Institute

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Address

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

855 Monroe Avenue, Suite 515

Memphis, TN 38163

Tel: (901) 448-5995; Fax: (901) 448-7193;

Lab: 210 Wittenborg Anatomy Building

Education

Ph.D. Institution: Michigan State University, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Program

Postdoctoral: University of Rochester School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy; University of Geneva School of Medicine, Department of Physiology

Research Interests

My research is focused on understanding how neurosecretory neurons of the rat hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system release the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin into the general circulation. Current experiments include: 1) conventional intracellular and whole cell recordings of immunocytochemically identified oxytocin and vasopressin neurons, to determine differences between oxytocin and vasopressin neurons and how these differences relate to firing patterns during hormone release; 2) combined light and electron microscopic morphological studies to characterize the synaptic inputs to these neurons and understand the neural circuits which control the firing pattern of these neurons; and 3) characterizing plasticity in the intrinsic and synaptic properties of these neurons as a function of endocrine state.

Links

Supraoptic Website

Recent Publications

• Sladek C D and Armstrong W E (2009) Neurohypophyseal System. In: Squire LR (ed.)Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, vol. 6, pp. 449-458. Oxford: Academic Press.
• Armstrong WE, Wang L, Li C, Teruyama R. Performance, properties, and plasticity of identified oxytocin and vasopressin neurones in vitro. J Neuroendocrinol. 2010 Feb 20; [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20210845
• Teruyama R, Lipschitz DL, Wang L, Ramoz GR, Crowley WR, Bealer SL, Armstrong WE. Central blockade of oxytocin receptors during mid-late gestation reduces amplitude of slow afterhyperpolarization in supraoptic oxytocin neurons. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Nov;295(5):E1167-71. Epub 2008 Sep 23. PMID: 18812459
• Armstrong WE. The neurophysiology of neurosecretory cells. J Physiol. 2007 Dec 15;585(Pt 3):645-7. Epub 2007 Oct 11. No abstract available. PMID: 17932139
• Armstrong WE. A neurohypophysial end game: spreading excitation with sildenafil. J Physiol. 2007 Oct 1;584(Pt 1):3. Epub 2007 Aug 23. No abstract available. PMID: 17717007
• Teruyama R, Armstrong WE. Calcium-dependent fast depolarizing afterpotentials in vasopressin neurons in the rat supraoptic nucleus. J Neurophysiol. 2007 Nov;98(5):2612-21. Epub 2007 Aug 22. PMID: 17715195

view complete list of references (pubmed link)