Department of Anesthesiology

Department of Anesthesiology- Research Division

	Helen A. Baghdoyan , Ph.D. Director of Laboratory Research Professor of Anesthesiology Professor of Pharmacology Faculty Member, Neuroscience Graduate Program Phone: 734-647-7831 Fax: 734-764-9332 Email: helenb@umich.edu

Dr. Baghdoyan directs a research program that is specifying the brain regions, receptors, and signal transduction pathways regulating arousal states such as sleep and anesthesia. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has a long-standing interest in neurochemical control of arousal. Dr. Baghdoyan's research on the role of acetylcholine in modulating arousal states has been supported by the NIMH since 1989. Basic studies of cholinergic neurotransmission have relevance for anesthesiology, psychiatry, and neurology. Each of these clinical specialties uses brain electrical activity (EEG) to provide an index of arousal level. Some EEG patterns, such as spindles, occur during natural sleep and during an anesthetically induced loss of consciousness. This fact suggests that common underlying mechanisms are involved in spindle generation during sleep and anesthesia, and Dr. Baghdoyan's research has shown that the same brain stem cholinergic systems contributing to sleep cycle control also modulate halothane-induced EEG spindle generation. Dr. Baghdoyan's laboratory also is supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The goal of this NHLBI sponsored research program is to understand the mechanisms by which opioids inhibit the rapid eye movement phase of sleep.

Recent publications:

Wang W, Baghdoyan HA, and Lydic R. Leptin replacement restores supraspinal cholinergic antinociception in leptin deficient obese mice. J Pain. 2009 Aug; 10(8): 836-43. [PubMed]

Van Dort CJ, Baghdoyan HA, and Lydic R. Adenosine A1 and A2A receptors in mouse prefrontal cortex modulate acetylcholine release and behavioral arousal. Journal of Neuroscience 29:871-881, 2009. [PubMed]

Hambrecht VS, Vlisides PE, Row BW, Gozal D, Baghdoyan HA, and Lydic R. G proteins in rat pre-frontal cortex (PFC) are differentially activated as a function of oxygen status and PFC region. Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy 37:112-117, 2009. [PubMed]

Zhu Z, Bowman HR, Baghdoyan HA, and Lydic R. Morphine increases acetylcholine release in the trigeminal nuclear complex. Sleep 31:1629-1637, 2008. [PubMed]

Vanini G, Watson CJ, Lydic R, and Baghdoyan HA. Gamma-aminobutyric acid-mediated neurotransmission in the pontine reticular formation modulates hypnosis, immobility, and breathing during isoflurane anesthesia. Anesthesiology 109:978-988, 2008. [PubMed]

Van Dort CJ, Baghdoyan HA, and Lydic R. Neurochemical modulators of sleep and anesthetic states. In: International Anesthesiology Clinics, Vol 46, edited by GA Mashour, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp 75-104, 2008. [PubMed]

Lydic R and Baghdoyan HA. Acetylcholine modulates sleep and wakefulness: A synaptic perspective. In: The Neurochemistry of Sleep and Wakefulness. Edit by J.M. Monti, S.R. Pandi-Perumal, and C.M. Sinton. Cambridge University Press, pp 109-143, 2008.

Watson CJ, Soto-Calderon H, Lydic R and Baghdoyan  HA. Pontine reticular formation (PnO) administration of hypocretin-1 increases PnO GABA levels and wakefulness. Sleep 31: 453- 464, 2008 . [PubMed]

Skulsky EM, Osman NI, Baghdoyan HA, Lydic R. Microdialysis delivery of morphine to the hypoglossal nucleus of Wistar rat increases hypoglossal acetylcholine release. Sleep 30:566-573, 2007. [PubMed]

Hambrecht VS, Vlisides PE, Row BW, Gozal D, Baghdoyan HA, and Lydic R. Hypoxia modulates cholinergic but not opioid activation of G proteins in rat hippocampus. Hippocampus 17: 934-942, 2007. [PubMed]

Watson CJ, Lydic R, Baghdoyan HA. Sleep and GABA levels in the oral part of rat pontine reticular formation are decreased by local and systemic administration of morphine. Neuroscience 144:375-86, 2007. [PubMed]

Lydic R and HA Baghdoyan. Neurochemical mechanisms mediating opioid-induced REM sleep disruption. In: Sleep and Pain, edited by G. Lavigne, M. Choinière, B.J. Sessle, and P. Soja. Seattle : International Association for the Study of Pain, 99-122, 2007.

Coleman CG, Baghdoyan HA, Lydic R. Dialysis delivery of an adenosine A2A agonist into the pontine reticular formation of C57BL/6J mouse increase pontine acetylcholine release and sleep. J Neurochem 96:1750-1759, 2006. [PubMed]

Baghdoyan HA. Editorial: Hyperalgesia induced by REM sleep loss: a phenomenon in search of a mechanism. Sleep 29:137-139, 2006. [PubMed]

Lydic R, Garza-Grande R, Struthers R, Baghdoyan HA. Nitric oxide in B6 mouse and nitric oxide-sensitive soluble guanylate cyclase in cat modulate acetylcholine release in pontine reticular formation. J Appl Physiol 100:1666-1673, 2006. [PubMed]

Bernard R, Lydic R, Baghdoyan HA. Hypocretin (orexin) receptor subtypes differentially enhance acetylcholine release and activate G protein subtypes in rat pontine reticular formation. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 317:163-171, 2006. [PubMed]

Lydic R and Baghdoyan HA. Relevance of anesthesiology for sleep medicine. In: Encyclopedia of Sleep Medicine. Edited by T. Lee-Chiong. 927-932, 2006.

Bernard R, Lydic R, Baghdoyan HA. Hypocretin receptor-activated G proteins revealed by [35S]GTPgammaS autoradiography. In: The Orexin/Hypocretin System: Physiology and Pathophysiology. Editors: S. Nishino and Takeshi Sakurai. 83-96, 2006.

Lydic R and Baghdoyan HA. Sleep and anesthesia. In: Foundations of Anesthesia: Basic and Clinical Sciences, 2nd Edition. Edited by EC Hemmings and PM Hopkins. 361-371, 2005.

Osman NI, Baghdoyan HA, Lydic R. Morphine inhibits acetylcholine release in rat prefrontal cortex when delivered systemically or by microdialysis to basal forebrain. Anesthesiology 103: 779-87, 2005. [PubMed]

Lydic R and Baghdoyan HA. Sleep, anesthesiology, and the neurobiology of arousal state control. Anesthesiology 103:1268-95, 2005. [PubMed]

Douglas CL, Bowman GN, Baghdoyan HA, Lydic R. C57BL/6J and B6.V-LEP OB mice differ in the cholinergic modulation of sleep and breathing. J Appl Physiol 98:918-929, 2005. [PubMed]

Research Divisions