thomas.pirtle@acu.edu

Areas of scholarship or expertise:

• Neurobiology
• Physiology
• Animal Behavior

Courses typically taught:

• General Biology I
• Biology Human Perspectives
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Animal Physiology Lab
• Animal Biology

Published works:

Pirtle, T.J. and Satterlie, R.A. (2006).  “The contribution of the pleural type 12 interneuron to swim acceleration in Clione limacina.” Invert. Neurosci. 6: 161-168.

Pirtle, T. J. and Satterlie, R.A. (2004). “Cellular mechanisms underlying swim acceleration in the pteropod mollusk Clione limacina.” Integr. Comp. Biol. 44: 37-46.

Moroz, L. L., Norekian, T.P., Pirtle, T.J., Robertson, K.J., and Satterlie, R.A. (2000). “Distribution of NADPH-diaphorase reactivity and effects of nitric oxide on feeding and locomotory circuitry in the pteropod mollusc, Clione limacina.” J. Comp. Neurol. 427: 274-284.

Satterlie, R. A., Norekian, T.P., and Pirtle, T.J. (2000). “Serotonin-induced spike narrowing in a locomotor pattern generator permits increases in cycle frequency during accelerations.”J. Neurophysiol. 83: 2163-2170.

Originally from: Mesa, Arizona

Research Interests:

I am interested in the neuronal mechanisms underlying locomotor behavior in animals.  Using a simple invertebrate preparation, the marine mollusk Clione limacina, I am investigating what cellular changes occur in the neurons controlling swimming during the transition from slow to fast swimming. My work includes recording the electrical activity of swim neurons in reduced preparations, immunohistochemistry to localize neurotransmitters and studying the role of cyclic nucleotides that mediate signaling in swim interneurons. I am also interested in the remarkable ability of nudibranch mollusks to incorporate the “stinging cells” of their cnidarian prey into their own tissues as a defensive mechanism.