Jennifer I. Luebke, PhD
Waterhouse Professor & Chair, Anatomy & Neurobiology
Biography
The overall interest of our laboratory is in the functional properties of neurons in the mammalian prefrontal cortex (PFC), which play a central role in higher cognitive abilities such as abstract thinking, problem solving and cognitive flexibility. We seek to gain an understanding of the signaling properties of these neurons (in young and aged monkeys and APP and tau transgenic mice) by examining characteristics such as repetitive action potential firing patterns, synaptic response properties and underlying ionic currents, using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of individual neurons identified under IR-DIC optics. By filling neurons from which recordings are obtained with dyes, we are able to subsequently reconstruct the neurons in 3-D and learn a great deal about important structure-function relationships. Most recently we are working with biomathematicians to perform computational modeling of PFC pyramidal cells using our empirically derived data.
Other Positions
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Education
- Boston University, PhD
- Randolph–Macon College, BS
Classes Taught
- GMSAN715
Publications
- Published on 1/8/2024
Amaral DG, Augustinack J, Barbas H, Frosch M, Gabrieli J, Luebke J, Rakic P, Rosene D, Rushmore RJ. The analysis of H.M.'s brain: A brief review of status and plans for future studies and tissue archive. Hippocampus. 2024 Feb; 34(2):52-57. PMID: 38189522.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/1/2023
He S, Guan Y, Cheng CH, Moore TL, Luebke JI, Killiany RJ, Rosene DL, Koo BB, Ou Y. Human-to-monkey transfer learning identifies the frontal white matter as a key determinant for predicting monkey brain age. Front Aging Neurosci. 2023; 15:1249415. PMID: 38020785.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/1/2023
Ibañez S, Sengupta N, Luebke JI, Wimmer K, Weaver CM. Myelin dystrophy in the aging prefrontal cortex leads to impaired signal transmission and working memory decline: a multiscale computational study. bioRxiv. 2023 Sep 01. PMID: 37693412.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/26/2023
Medalla M, Mo B, Nasar R, Zhou Y, Park J, Luebke JI. Comparative features of calretinin, calbindin, and parvalbumin expressing interneurons in mouse and monkey primary visual and frontal cortices. J Comp Neurol. 2023 Dec; 531(18):1934-1962. PMID: 37357562.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/28/2023
Moore TL, Medalla M, Ibañez S, Wimmer K, Mojica CA, Killiany RJ, Moss MB, Luebke JI, Rosene DL. Neuronal properties of pyramidal cells in lateral prefrontal cortex of the aging rhesus monkey brain are associated with performance deficits on spatial working memory but not executive function. Geroscience. 2023 Jun; 45(3):1317-1342. PMID: 37106282.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/28/2023
Medalla M, Mo B, Nasar R, Zhou Y, Park J, Luebke JI. Comparative Features of Calretinin, Calbindin and Parvalbumin Expressing Interneurons in Mouse and Monkey Primary Visual and Frontal Cortices. bioRxiv. 2023 Feb 28. PMID: 36909556.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/8/2023
Moore TL, Medalla M, Iba Ez S, Wimmer K, Mojica CA, Killiany RJ, Moss MB, Luebke JI, Rosene DL. Neuronal properties of pyramidal cells in lateral prefrontal cortex of the aging rhesus monkey brain are associated with performance deficits on spatial working memory but not executive function. bioRxiv. 2023 Feb 08. PMID: 36798388.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/14/2022
Medalla M, Chang W, Ibañez S, Guillamon-Vivancos T, Nittmann M, Kapitonava A, Busch SE, Moore TL, Rosene DL, Luebke JI. Layer-specific pyramidal neuron properties underlie diverse anterior cingulate cortical motor and limbic networks. Cereb Cortex. 2022 05 14; 32(10):2170-2196. PMID: 34613380.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/16/2021
Chang W, Weaver CM, Medalla M, Moore TL, Luebke JI. Age-related alterations to working memory and to pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex of rhesus monkeys begin in early middle-age and are partially ameliorated by dietary curcumin. Neurobiol Aging. 2022 01; 109:113-124. PMID: 34715442.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/15/2021
Delpech JC, Pathak D, Varghese M, Kalavai SV, Hays EC, Hof PR, Johnson WE, Ikezu S, Medalla M, Luebke JI, Ikezu T. Wolframin-1-expressing neurons in the entorhinal cortex propagate tau to CA1 neurons and impair hippocampal memory in mice. Sci Transl Med. 2021 09 15; 13(611):eabe8455. PMID: 34524859.
Read at: PubMed
View 59 more publications: View full profile at BUMC