Research

Ashley Bear is a graduate student in Evolutionary Biology who is exploring the neurophysiological and genetic components of environmentally induced change in courtship behavior in the buteterfly, Bicyclus anynana.

I am fascinated by the molecular and cellular processes that drive behavior.

Pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in the United States and the main reason for visiting the emergency department in more than 50% of cases.

Circadian rhythms drive daily oscillations of gene expression in tissues throughout the body.

Neuropeptidergic signaling plays an important role in modulating arousal in vertebrates and invertebrates with the majority of these pathways conserved throughout evolution.

An animal's fitness is contingent on its ability to make behavioral choices in light of sensory inputs; such decisions are more difficult when the animal must choose between conflicting stimuli.

Pro-apoptotic signaling via the transcription factor E2F1 in mammalian neurons can be induced by mitochondrially derived oxidative stress in an AMPK dependent manner.

A human brain in a deep sleep phase displays highly synchronous activity in some neurons while other neurons become silent.

The remarkable ability of the nervous system to integrate external stimuli with the internal state to produce these behaviors in invertebrates and vertebrates is intriguing and complex.