Zachary Gursky, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate (Neuroscience)About
Research
Publications
2025
Immunity meets inhibition: Immunomodulation of cortical inhibitory synaptic networks
Piletti Chatain C, Gursky Z, Camacho D, Favuzzi E. Immunity meets inhibition: Immunomodulation of cortical inhibitory synaptic networks. Current Opinion In Neurobiology 2025, 94: 103090. PMID: 40743816, DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2025.103090.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsImmune cellsMeningeal immune cellsGamma-aminobutyric acidInhibitory synapsesCortical inhibitionCortical inhibitory synapsesInhibitory synapse developmentSecretion of cytokinesNeuroimmune interactionsImmune mediatorsInhibitory neuronsInterferon-gammaSoluble factorsImmune systemSynaptic networksBrain parenchymaSynapse developmentBrain developmentNormal physiologyMicrogliaBrainInhibitionBrain functionCellsSynapsesAge-dependent brain responses to mechanical stress determine resilience in a chronic lymphatic drainage impairment model
Gursky Z, Khan Z, Koundal S, Bhardwaj A, Melgarejo J, Xu K, Chen X, Lin H, Gu X, Lee H, Kipnis J, Dori Y, Tannenbaum A, Santambrogio L, Benveniste H. Age-dependent brain responses to mechanical stress determine resilience in a chronic lymphatic drainage impairment model. Journal Of Clinical Investigation 2025, 135: e182555. PMID: 40663395, PMCID: PMC12404751, DOI: 10.1172/jci182555.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDeep cervical lymph nodesLymph nodesContrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imagingDynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imagingCervical lymph nodesEvidence of hydrocephalusBlood-brain barrier leakageImpaired lymphatic drainageLow-grade inflammationLymphatic drainage pathwaysCerebral homeostasisMagnetic resonance imagingDCE-MRILymphatic drainageIntracranial pressureLymphatic vesselsMeningeal lymphatic vesselsLong-term mechanical stressResonance imagingBarrier leakageRatsSolute clearanceGlymphatic influxDrainage pathwaysAge groups
2024
Divergent brain solute clearance in rat models of cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer’s disease
Koundal S, Chen X, Gursky Z, Lee H, Xu K, Liang F, Xie Z, Xu F, Lin H, Van Nostrand W, Gu X, Elkin R, Tannenbaum A, Benveniste H. Divergent brain solute clearance in rat models of cerebral amyloid angiopathy and Alzheimer’s disease. IScience 2024, 27: 111463. PMID: 39720539, PMCID: PMC11667077, DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111463.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2023
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) increases CSF flow and glymphatic transport
Ozturk B, Koundal S, Al Bizri E, Chen X, Gursky Z, Dai F, Lim A, Heerdt P, Kipnis J, Tannenbaum A, Lee H, Benveniste H. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) increases CSF flow and glymphatic transport. JCI Insight 2023, 8: e170270. PMID: 37159262, PMCID: PMC10371231, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.170270.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsContinuous positive airway pressurePositive airway pressureGlymphatic transportAirway pressureIntracranial pressureEnd-expiratory lung volumeCSF bulk flowCerebrospinal fluid flowArterial oxygenationUpper airwayLung volumeCPAP deviceRespiratory functionClearance functionTherapeutic benefitSkull baseAnesthetized rodentsCSF flowFluid homeostasisPhysiological testingLymphatic systemFunctional crosstalkClinical devicesAirwayRats
2022
Representation of prefrontal axonal efferents in the thalamic nucleus reuniens in a rodent model of fetal alcohol exposure during third trimester
Smith IF, Gursky ZH, Klintsova AY. Representation of prefrontal axonal efferents in the thalamic nucleus reuniens in a rodent model of fetal alcohol exposure during third trimester. Frontiers In Behavioral Neuroscience 2022, 16: 993601. PMID: 36160686, PMCID: PMC9493097, DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.993601.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMedial prefrontal cortexFetal alcohol spectrum disordersAlcohol exposureThalamic nucleus reuniensRodent modelsNucleus reuniensBinge alcohol exposureThird-trimester exposureFetal alcohol exposurePostnatal day 4Alcohol spectrum disordersLong-Evans ratsExecutive functioningAE animalsTrimester exposureThird trimesterDisynaptic pathwayMPFC neuronsAxons synapseFemale ratsMale ratsAxon terminalsAxonal projectionsControl animalsHippocampal cellsCharacterization of perivascular space pathology in a rat model of cerebral small vessel disease by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging
Monte B, Constantinou S, Koundal S, Lee H, Dai F, Gursky Z, Van Nostrand WE, Darbinyan A, Zlokovic BV, Wardlaw J, Benveniste H. Characterization of perivascular space pathology in a rat model of cerebral small vessel disease by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. Journal Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism : Official Journal Of The International Society Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism 2022, 42: 1813-1826. PMID: 35673963, PMCID: PMC9536121, DOI: 10.1177/0271678x221105668.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSmall vessel diseaseCerebral small vessel diseaseT2W magnetic resonance imagesSHRSP ratsPerivascular spacesClinical relevanceMagnetic resonance imagesVessel diseaseSeverity of SVDGadoteric acidWistar-Kyoto control ratsHypertensive stroke-prone ratsStroke-prone ratsHuman post-mortem tissueT2-weighted magnetic resonance imagesMonths of ageT1-weighted imagingMagnetic resonance imagingPost-mortem tissueVivo magnetic resonance imagingPrimary endpointHyperintense lesionsProne ratsWKY ratsUnderlying pathophysiologyRat Model of Late Gestational Alcohol Exposure Produces Similar Life-Long Changes in Thalamic Nucleus Reuniens Following Moderate- Versus High-Dose Insult
Gursky ZH, Klintsova AY. Rat Model of Late Gestational Alcohol Exposure Produces Similar Life-Long Changes in Thalamic Nucleus Reuniens Following Moderate- Versus High-Dose Insult. Alcohol And Alcoholism 2022, 57: 413-420. PMID: 35258554, PMCID: PMC9270984, DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agac008.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBrain growth spurtBlood alcohol concentrationPeak blood alcohol concentrationAlcohol exposureThalamic nucleus reuniensRat modelNucleus reuniensSubstantial neuron lossBinge alcohol exposureFetal alcohol spectrum disordersGestational alcohol exposureNon-neuronal cellsLife-long changesAlcohol spectrum disordersNeuron lossIntragastric intubationRat pupsThalamic damageAE groupBehavioral alterationsCell lossLow dosesPrefrontal cortexUnbiased stereological estimationGrowth spurtSustained glymphatic transport and impaired drainage to the nasal cavity observed in multiciliated cell ciliopathies with hydrocephalus
Xue Y, Gursky Z, Monte B, Koundal S, Liu X, Lee H, Michurina TV, Mellanson KA, Zhao L, Nemajerova A, Kahle KT, Takemaru KI, Enikolopov G, Peunova NI, Benveniste H. Sustained glymphatic transport and impaired drainage to the nasal cavity observed in multiciliated cell ciliopathies with hydrocephalus. Fluids And Barriers Of The CNS 2022, 19: 20. PMID: 35248089, PMCID: PMC8898469, DOI: 10.1186/s12987-022-00319-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGlymphatic transportIntracranial pressureMagnetic resonance imagingNasal cavityCribriform plateMouse modelFluid homeostasisOlfactory bulb hypoplasiaDistinct mouse modelsNormal intracranial pressureAquaporin-4 expressionKnock-out (KO) miceWild-type littermatesConditional knockout miceChronic rhinitisCommon findingSeparate cohortAQP4 expressionAQP4 polarizationKnockout miceHydrocephalusResonance imagingConclusionsThe combinationGadoteric acidBrain morphometry
2021
Changes in Representation of Thalamic Projection Neurons within Prefrontal-Thalamic-Hippocampal Circuitry in a Rat Model of Third Trimester Binge Drinking
Gursky ZH, Klintsova AY. Changes in Representation of Thalamic Projection Neurons within Prefrontal-Thalamic-Hippocampal Circuitry in a Rat Model of Third Trimester Binge Drinking. Brain Sciences 2021, 11: 323. PMID: 33806485, PMCID: PMC8001051, DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11030323.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchFetal alcohol spectrum disordersAlcohol exposureMedial prefrontal cortexVentral hippocampusProjection neuronsShort-term alcohol exposureLong-Evans rat pupsPrefrontal cortexBrain growth spurtThalamic projection neuronsDevelopmental alcohol exposureAlcohol spectrum disordersThalamic nucleus reuniensExecutive functioningRE neuronsNeuron lossThird trimesterThalamic connectivityRat modelRat pupsHippocampal circuitryRodent modelsBinge drinkingNucleus reuniensNeuron numberExecutive functioning-specific behavioral impairments in a rat model of human third trimester binge drinking implicate prefrontal-thalamo-hippocampal circuitry in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Gursky ZH, Savage LM, Klintsova AY. Executive functioning-specific behavioral impairments in a rat model of human third trimester binge drinking implicate prefrontal-thalamo-hippocampal circuitry in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Behavioural Brain Research 2021, 405: 113208. PMID: 33640395, PMCID: PMC8005484, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113208.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAnimalsAnimals, NewbornBehavior, AnimalBinge DrinkingCentral Nervous System DepressantsCognitive DysfunctionDisease Models, AnimalEthanolExecutive FunctionFemaleFetal Alcohol Spectrum DisordersHypothalamusMaleNerve NetPrefrontal CortexPregnancyPregnancy Trimester, ThirdRatsRats, Long-EvansThalamusConceptsExecutive functioningFetal alcohol spectrum disordersNovel object recognitionPrenatal alcohol exposureBehavioral impairmentsSpectrum disorderAlcohol spectrum disordersPrefrontal cortexObject recognitionBehavioral flexibility tasksSpontaneous alternationPlus-maze taskMedial prefrontal cortexAlcohol exposureThalamic nucleus reuniensAlcohol-exposed ratsLong-Evans rat pupsFlexibility taskReversal learningDiscrimination learningSham intubationsBehavioral alterationsDevelopmental alcoholAssociative memoryMaze task