Charles K. Meshul, Ph.D.
Positions
Professor, Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Pathology (OHSU)
Research Biologist and Director, Electron Microscopy Facility (VA)
Contact
meshulc@ohsu.edu; Phone: 503-220-8262, x56788; Lab Phone: 503-220-8262, x54142; Fax: 503-273-5351 Office: VA Bldg 101, Room 520; Mail Code: VA: RD-29
Research Interests
Parkinson's disease, drugs of abuse, electron/light microscopy, immunocytochemistry, in vivo microdialysis, synaptic plasticity, neuroleptic drugs, treadmill exercise, neuroanatomy, cellular
Preceptor Rotations Availability
Dr. Meshul is available for preceptor rotations for all upcoming academic terms.
Mentorship Availability
Dr. Meshul might be available for mentorship for the 2012/13 academic year.
Research Summary
My laboratory is mainly involved in investigating electron microscopic/immunocytochemical changes in synapses within the brain following various drug treatment procedures or lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway, as a model for Parkinson’s disease (PD), and correlating these findings with functional/protein changes using in vivo microdialysis/westerns and motor behaviors in both rats and mice. Using a new progressive mouse model of PD, by administering increased doses of the toxin, MPTP, we have found that exposure of mice to a socially enriched environment can, after the initiation of the loss of dopamine, slow down or block the neurochemical and motor behavioral deficits due to continued treatment with MPTP. We are currently investigating the therapeutic affects of treadmill exercise in this same progressive MPTP model of PD in both young and aged mice.
Education
B.A. (1973) University of California, Los Angeles
Ph.D. (1982) University of Illinois Medical Center
Selected Recent Publications
Walker, R.H., Koch R.J., Sweeney, J.E., Moore, C., Meshul, C.K.: Effects of subthalamic nucleus lesions and stimulation upon glutamate levels in the dopamine-depleted rat striatum. Neuroreport, 20:770-775 (2009).
Meshul, C.K.: Glutamate plasticity in an animal model of Parkinson's disease. In "Cortico-subcortical Dynamics in Parkinson's Disease". ed, Tseng, K-Y., Humana Press, p 207-230, 2009.
McKee, BL, Keyghobadi, M., Tozier de la Poterie, A.P., Meshul, C.K.: Lesion of the ventromedial nucleus of the thalamus blocks acute cocaine-induced changes in striatal glutamate. Synapse, 64:445-448 (2010).
Walker RH, Davies G, Koch RJ, Haack AK, Moore C, Meshul CK: Effects of zona incerta lesions upon striatal neurochemistry and behavioural asymmetry in 6OHDA-lesioned rats. J Neuroscience Research, 88:2964-2975 (2010).
Schang, A.Y., Fisher, B.E., Sashkin, N.R., Moore, C., Dirling, L.B., Petzinger, G.M., Jakowec, M.W., Meshul, C.K.: Correlates and Analysis of Motor Function in Humans and Animal Models of Parkinson's Disease. In, "Neuromethods: Behavioral Analysis". ed, Raber J. Humana Press Inc., Totawa, NJ. p. 55-90 (2010).
Goldberg NRS, Haack AK, Meshul CK: Enriched environment promotes similar neuronal and behavioral recovery in a young and aged mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Neuroscience, 172:433-452 (2011).
Smith BA, Goldberg NRS, Meshul CK: Effects of treadmill exercise on behavioral recovery and neural changes in the substantia nigra and striatum of the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-lesioned mouse. Brain Research, 1386:70-80 (2011).
Goldberg NRS, Haack AK, Lim NS, Janson OK, Meshul CK: Dopaminergic and behavioral correlates of progressive lesioning of the nigrostriatal pathway with MPTP. Neuroscience, 180:256-271 (2011).
Goldberg NRS, Fields V, Salvatore, MF, and Meshul CK: Social enrichment attenuates nigrostriatal lesioning and reverses motor impairment in a progressive 1-methyl-2-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Disease, 45:1051-1067 (2012).
Walker RH, Moore C, Davies G, Dirling LB, Koch RJ, Meshul CK: Effects of subthalamic nucleus lesions and stimulation upon corticostriatal afferents in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat. PLoS One, 7(3):e32919 (2012).
