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RESEARCH INTERESTS
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Visually impaired persons 'understand' their environment by stroking
their finger tips across the surface of an object to be identified. Object
features such as size, shape, surface textures can be extracted by the
interaction of the skin and the object's surface. Development of efficient
tactile substitution devices depends on further investigations focusing on
somatosensory signal processing. My research interest is centered on
studying the fine details of the sense of touch and the perception of
complex spatio-temporal patterns applied to the skin. The goal of this
laboratory is to gain a better understanding of how a touch -- such as a
tap, pressure, vibration, or motion -- applied to a specific body part is
localized, identified and appreciated. This is accomplished by studying
the physiologic properties and morphologic connections of groups of
neurons located in the thalamus, cortex or brainstem that respond to
tactile stimuli. My experimental protocol utilizes animal models and a
multi- disciplinary approach based on neuroanatomical and
electrophysiological techniques and a behavioral paradigm. In addition, my
interest focuses on the integration of these sensory signals with motor
centers and pathways and their role in evoking stereotyped behaviors.
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
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- Gardner, E.P., Hamalainen, H.A., Warren, S., Davis, J.H., and Young,
W. (1984) Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and cortical single unit
responses elicited by mechanical tactile stimuli in awake monkeys.
Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. 58:537-552.
- Hamalainen, H.A., Warren, S., and Gardner, E.P. (1985) Differential
sensitivity to airpuffs on human hairy and glabrous skin. Somatosensory
Res. 2:281-302.
- Warren, S., Keiahan, A.M., and Pubols, B.H. Jr. (1986) The
somatosensory thalamus of the raccoon: properties of single neurons
responsive to light mechanical stimulation of the forepaw. J.
Neurosci. 6:308-317.
- Warren, S., Hamalainen, H.A., and Gardner, E.P. (1986) Objective
classification of motion and direction sensitive neurons in primary
somatosensory cortex of awake monkeys. J. Neurophysiol. 56:598-622.
- Warren, S., Hamalainen, H.A., and Gardner, E.P. (1986) Coding of
spatial period of gratings rolled across the recepiive fields of
somatosensory cortical neurons in awake monkeys. J.
Neurophysiol. 56:623-639.
- Gardner, E. P., Hamalainen, H.A., Palmer, C.l., and Warren, S. (1992)
Simulation of motion on the skin: V. Effect of stimulus temporal frequency
on the representation of moving bar patterns in primary somatosensory
cortex of monkeys. J. Neurophysiol., 67:37-63.
- May, P.J., and Warren, S. (1993) Ultrastructure of macaque ciliary
ganglion. J. Neurocytol., 22:1073-1095.
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BOOK CHAPTERS
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- Pubols, B.H. Jr., and Warren, S. (1985) Information processing within
the raccoon somatosensory system. In: Development. Organization and
Processing in Somatosensory Pathways. M.J. Rowe and W.D. Willis, eds.
Alan R. Liss, Inc., N.Y. pp. 183-189.
- Warren, S., Hamalainen, H.A., Palmer, C.l., and Gardner, E.P. (1991)
Transformation of Spatio-temporal Information by Somatosensory Neural
Networks. In: Werner-Gren Intemational Symposium Series: Information
Processing in the Somatosensory System. O. Franzen and J. Westman,
eds. Macmillian Press, London. pp.
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SELECTED ABSTRACTS
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- Warren, S. (1993) Responses of primate ventral posterior (VP) nuclear
neurons to tactile stimulation. J Miss Academy Sci. 38:43.
- Warren, S., E. Perkins, and D. Andrew (1994) Organization and
distribution of afferents to the dorsal column nuclei of the monkey.
Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 20:515.
- Andrew, D.L., N.F. Capra, and S. Warren (1995) Organization of
trigeminal nuclei projections in the primate. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr.
21:104.
- Andrew, D.L., P.J. May, and S. Warren (1996) Characterization of
thalamic terminal arbors from the primate trigeminal principal sensory
nucleus. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 22:97.
- Warren, S., Andrew, D.L., and May, P.J. (1997) Morphology of macaque
intratrigeminal cells and axons. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr.
23:152.
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