Laura M. Hurley

B.A., University of Virginia, 1989
Ph.D., University of Washington, 1997
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin

Research Interests

One model commonly used to think about nervous system function is that of a hard-wired circuit. Although this model is an extremely useful one, it has been known for some time that the circuits of the brain can be modified by neuromodulators. My research focuses on how neuromodulators alter the function of neural circuits that underlie behavior. I pursue this interest by studying the actions of the neuromodulator serotonin on the auditory system. Serotonin is nearly ubiquitous in the mammalian auditory system, but there has been comparatively little research on how serotonin alters the central processing of sound. To address this issue, I use bats as experimental subjects. These fascinating animals make excellent models for studying the auditory system. They rely on echolocation to navigate and catch their insect prey, but as social animals they also have a rich repertoire of communication calls. Reflecting the fact that sound is so important to them, bats have hypertrophied auditory systems that are relatively easy to study. At the same time, however, many aspects of their auditory systems are strikingly similar to those seen in other mammals, which facilitates the extrapolation of some experimental findings to other species. My research in bats addresses two main questions: what are the functions of serotonin in the auditory brainstem and what are the mechanisms by which serotonin modulates auditory processing? Answering these questions requires using a number of techniques including extracellular electrophysiology in awake animals and intracellular electrophysiology in brain slice, as well as immunohistochemistry and tract tracing. The pursuit of these questions will lead me and my students to many different levels of analysis, ranging from ion channels to behavior, with the ultimate goal of developing and exploring new and interesting ideas about neuromodulator-induced plasticity in the auditory system.

Representative Publications

Hurley, L.M. and Pollak, G.D. (1999). Serotonin differentially modulates responses to tones and frequency-modulated sweeps in the infenor colliculus. Journal of Neuroscience, 19, 8071-8082.

Klug, A., Khan, A., Bauer, E.E., Burger, R.B., Grothe, B., Hurley, L.M., Yang, L., and Park, T.J. (2000). Latency as a function of intensity in auditory neurons: influences of central processing. Hearing Research, 148:107-123.

Hurley, L.M. and Thompson, A.M. (2001). Serotonergic innervation of the auditory brainstem of the Mexican free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 435 (1):78-88.

Hurley, L.M. and Pollack, G.D. (2001). Serotonin effects on frequency tuning of inferior colliculus neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 85(2): 828-842.

Klug, A., Bauer, E.E., Hanson, J., Hurley, L.M., Meitzen, J., and Pollak, G.D. (2002). Inhibition generates response selectivity for species-specific calls in the inferior colliculus of Mexican free-tailed bats. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88: 1941-1954.

Hurley, L.M., Thompson, A.M., and Pollak, G.D. (2002). Serotonin in the inferior colliculus. (review article). Hearing Research, 168: 1-11.

Thompson, A.M. and Hurley, L.M. (2004). Dense serotonergic innervation of principal nuclei of the superior olivary complex complex in mouse. Neuroscience Letter, 168: 179-182.

Hurley, L.M., Devilbiss, D.M., and Waterhouse, B.D. (2004). A matter of focus: monoaminergic modulation of stimulus coding within mammalian sensory networks. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 14: 488-495.

Hurley, L.M. and Pollak, G.D. (2005). Serotonin shifts first-spike latencies of inferior colliculus neurons. Journal of Neuroscience 25(34):7876-7886.

Hurley, L.M. and Pollak, G.D. (2005). Serotonin selectively modulates responses to species-specific vocalizations in the inferior colliculus. Journal of Comparative Physiology A (Epub April 14, 2005).