Tom Koehnle, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
205A Colton Hall
330.569.5316
koehnletj@hiram.edu
Education
Ohio University (Biological Sciences) , B.S.
University of California, Davis (Animal Behavior), Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh, Post Doctoral Scholar
Teaching Interests
Human anatomy and physiology
Research Interests
Do you believe in love at first sight? Have you ever been scared out of your shoes? Did you ever wonder why scary music adds suspense to movies? Why are some people very shy or reserved, while others seek endless thrills? A quickening of the pulse, butterflies in your stomach, or gasping for breath are hallmarks of love, fear, and excitement. My fundamental research interest is in understanding how these processes work.
Sensory feedback from the body, in a process called "interoception," shapes our personality, our emotions, our learning, and our decisionmaking. My priorities are 1) To understand how interoception shapes animal behavior (including the behavior of people), 2) To understand the neuroanatomical substrates and physiological systems that support these behaviors, 3) To understand the development of these substrates and systems, across both normal and abnormal life experiences.
Currently I am focused on understanding how interoception shapes animal behavior. As part of this work, I am conducting a research project to determine whether behavioral reactivity in rodents is stable across time and across different types of situations. In this research I am examining harm-avoidance and novelty-seeking behaviors in wild rats. Basically, that means we expose a bunch of rats to novel or potentially threatening stimuli, and see what's happening inside their brains. Students wanting to work in my lab should love rodents (but not too much) and old barns.
My studies span multiple levels of analysis, from looking at behavior of animals in the field to understanding the neuroanatomy and physiology that supports this behavior. This is probably the only lab on campus where you'll learn to use both a chainsaw and a microtome. Some day's you'll smell like formaldehyde, other days you'll smell like DEET. Ah, the joys of research!
So why bother with any of this stuff? It's because alterations in the anatomy and function of interoceptive brain circuits have been linked to an array of psychiatric disorders in humans, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and functional bowel disorders. If we learn how these brain circuits work in animals, it will help us to understand how they work in people, and may lead to better treatments for a number of diseases and disorders.
Other Interests
- Science fiction and fantasy, especially Ellison, Borges, and Pratchett.
- History of almost any stripe, but especially the history of technology.
- Statistics, particularly the history and application of different methods and models (I'm currently researching the history of educational assessment).
- Early Christian theology, from Enoch and its predecessors through the first Council of Nicea.
Selected Publications
- Koehnle, T.J. and Rinaman, L. (2007) Progressive postnatal increases in Fos
immunoreactivity in the forebrain and brainstem of rats after viscerosensory
stimulation with lithium chloride. American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory,
Integrative, and Comparative Physiology. 292: R1212-R1223. - Schank, J.C., Koehnle, T.J. (Accepted) Pseudoreplication is a pseudo-problem.
Journal of Comparative Psychology. - Koehnle, T.J. (2005) The proof is not in the p-value. American Journal of
Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology. 288: R777. - Hao, S., Sharp, J.W., Ross, C.M., McDaniel, B.J., Anthony, T.G., Wek,
R.C., Cavener, D.R., McGrath, B.C., Rudell, J.B., Koehnle, T.J., Gietzen, D.W.
(2005) Uncharged tRNA and sensing of amino acid deficiency in mammalian piriform cortex. Science. 307: 1776-1778. - Koehnle, T.J., Stephens, A., & Gietzen, D.W. (2004) Threonine imbalanced
diet alters first meal microstructure in rats. Physiology & Behavior. 81: 15-21. - Koehnle, T.J., Russell, M.C., Morin, A.S., Erecius, L.F., Gietzen, D.W. (2004)
Diets deficient in indispensable amino acids rapidly decrease the
concentration of the limiting amino acid in the anterior piriform cortex
of rats. Journal of Nutrition 134: 2365-2371. - Sharp, J.W., Ross, C.M., Koehnle, T., Gietzen, D.W. (2004) Phosphorylation
of Ca2+/ calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II and the AMPA
receptor in response to a threonine-devoid diet. Neuroscience. 126: 1053-1062. - Koehnle, T.J., Russell, M.C. & Gietzen, D.W. (2003) Rats rapidly reject diets
deficient in essential amino acids. Journal of Nutrition 133: 2331-2335. - Russell, M.C., Koehnle, T.J., Barrett, J.A., Blevins, J.E., & Gietzen, D.W.
(2003) The rapid anorectic response to a threonine imbalanced diet is
decreased by injection of threonine into the anterior piriform cortex of rats.
Nutritional Neuroscience 6: 247-251. - Blais, A., Huneau, J-F., Magrum, L.J., Koehnle, T.J., Sharp, J.W., Tome, D.,
& Gietzen, D.W. (2003) Threonine deprivation rapidly activates the
System A amino acid transporter in primary cultures of rat neurons from
the essential amino acid sensor in the anterior piriform cortex. Journal of
Nutrition 133: 2156-2164. - Koehnle, T.J., & Schank, J.C. (2003) Power tools needed for the dynamical
toolbox. Adaptive Behavior. 11: 291-293. - Koehnle, T.J., Brown, A. (1999) Slow axonal transport of neurofilament protein in cultured neurons. Journal of Cell Biology 144: 447-58.
- Henley, W.N., Koehnle, T.J. (1997) Thyroid hormones and the treatment of
depression: an examination of basic hormonal actions in the mature
mammalian brain. Synapse 27: 36-44.