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Assistant Professor Department of Physiology

Link to website: www.clemenslab.org

Email: ClemensS@ecu.edu

Mailing Address:
Department of Physiology
600 Moye Blvd., 6N-98
Greenville, NC 27834

Our lab is interested in understanding the organization and the functioning of the spinal cord, and the neural networks that drive and modulate this integral part of the nervous system. The spinal cord not only gates sensory input and controls motor output, it also governs a wide range of involuntary functions in the body, such as blood pressure control, heart rate, and it is involved in a number of neurological disorders, such as Restless Legs Syndrome, or RLS.

Using electrophysiological and pharmacological approaches as well as gene expression analyses, research in the lab is focused on the deciphering the dynamic actions of the neurotansmitter Dopamine in the spinal cord, to better understand how the actions of the this neuromodulator can dynamically adapt the performances of an organism.

Society for Neuroscience (www.sfn.org)
Société des neuroscienes françaises (www.neurosciences.asso.fr)
Marie Curie Fellows Association (www.mcfa.eu)

H. Zhu, S. Clemens, M. Sawchuk, and S. Hochman (2008)
Stability of D1, D2, D4, and D5 Dopamine receptor subtype distributions in the spinal cord of a Dopamine D3-deficient mouse, Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 194:957-962
H. Zhu, S. Clemens, M. Sawchuk, and S. Hochman (2007)
Mapping of the Dopamine D1-D5 receptor subtypes distribution in the thoraco-lumbar regions of the mouse spinal cord: A non-autoradiographic in situ hybridization study, Neuroscience, 149(4):885-897
S. Clemens, D. R. Rye, and S. Hochman (2006)
Reversal of the circadian expression of tyrosine-hydroxylase but not nitric oxide synthase levels in the spinal cord of D3 receptor knockout mice, Neurology, 67(1):125-130
S. Clemens, M. Sawchuk, and S. Hochman (2005)
Reversal of the circadian expression of tyrosine-hydroxylase but not nitric oxide synthase levels in the spinal cord of D3 receptor knockout mice, Neuroscience, 133(2):353-357
S. Clemens and S. Hochman (2004)
Conversion of the Modulatory Actions of Dopamine on Spinal Reflexes from Depression to Facilitation in D3 Receptor knockout mice, Journal of Neuroscience 24:11337-11345

Clemens S., Zhu H., Harrell C., Agrawal S., Shreckengost J., Sawchuk M., and Hochman S. (2008) Spinal Dopamine dysfunction in Restless Lesgs Syndrome, Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, Baltimore Meeting, Octobre 26-28
Clemens S., Le Ray D. Simmers J., Combes D. (2007) Dopamine modulation during spinal locomotory network reconfiguration in the developing amphibian spinal cord Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. Vol. 33, 187.4
Clemens S., Zhu, H., Sawchuk M., and Hochman S. (2006) D3 receptor knock-out mice have altered circadian gene expression patterns in spinal sympathetic preganglionic neurons Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. Vol. 32, 555.11
Todd J., Clemens S., and DeWeerth S.P. (2006) Intracellular recording reveals that extracellular electrical stimulation can cause enduring dynamic changes of cellular properties Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. Vol. 32, 200.2
Clemens S., Zhu H. Sawchuk M., and Hochman S. (2005) Expression profiling reveals circadian patterns of gene expression in spinal sympathetic systems: Focus on mono-aminergic mechanisms Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. Vol. 31, 175.10
Clemens S. and Hochman S. (2004) Monosynaptic and longer-latency reflexes in the mouse spinal cord differ in their responses to dopamine and D2-like agonists and antagonists Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. Vol. 30, 311.10
Sawchuk M., Clemens S., Hochman S. (2004) Tyrosine-hydroxylase levels in spinal sympathetic regions: Circadian variation and greatly reduced staining in D3 knockout mice Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. Vol. 30, 546.15