Nell Beatty Cant, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Neurobiology

Department:
Neurobiology

Email:
nellcantneurodukeedu

Mailing Address:
Box 3209, DUMC
Durham, NC 27710

Telephone:
919-684-6555

Training:
Ph.D., University of Michigan

Last Updated:
December 09, 2004

Research Interests:
The long-term objective of Dr. Cant’s work is to understand the organization of the brainstem auditory pathways in terms of connections among the different neuronal types that form them. The goal of current research is to analyze the termination patterns of the axons of some specific cell types within the isofrequency contours of the inferior colliculus. There are four specific aims: 1) To characterize the organization of the bushycell pathway from the cochlear nucleus to the superior olivary complex and from the superior olivary complex to the inferior colliculus; 2) To characterize the multipolar cell pathway from the ventral cochlear nucleus to the inferior colliculus; 3) To analyze the periolivary cell groups of the superior olivary complex in terms of specific cell types; and 4) To examine the organization of the isofrequency contours in the inferior colliculus in terms of the arborization patterns of lemniscal inputs from the bushy and multipolar cell pathways and from selected periolivary nuclei.The hypothesis is that although a number of lower brainstem auditory pathways converge on one isofrequency contour in the inferior colliculus, their terminal arborizations occupy different domains within that contour.

Methods used in Dr. Cant’s laboratory include: 1) Tracing techniques based on the anterograde and/or retrograde transport of biocytin, Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutin, and a number of different fluorescent dyes, and 2) A fixed slice preparation in which the dendriticarborization patterns of neurons that project to known sources can be examined.

Neuroanatomical studies provide essential information relevant to the mechanisms of auditory processing. The neuronal activity that leads to functional expression is dependent on the precise and specific connectivities among hundreds of specialized neuronal types. Detailed understanding of these connectivities will not only help to interpret available functional data, it will also provide a basis for developing rational hypotheses about auditory function that can be tested further.

Publications:
2004 -- Cant NB. Projections from the cochlear nuclear complex to the inferior colliculus. In Winer J.A. and Schreiner C. (eds.) The Inferior Colliculus. Springer-Veilas, pp 115-131 (in press).

2003 -- Cant, N.B. and C.G. Benson (2003) Parallel auditory pathways: projection patterns of the different neuronal populations in the dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei. Brain Res. Bull., 60: 457-474.

2001 -- Tucci, D.L., N.B. Cant and D. Durham (2001) Effects of conductive hearing loss on gerbil central auditory system activity in silence. Hearing Res. 155 :124-132.

2001 -- Tucci, D.L., N.B. Cant and D. Durham (2001)  Conductive hearing loss results in changes in cytochrome oxidase activity in gerbil central auditory system. J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol. 3: 89-106.

2000 -- Schofield, B.R. and N.B. Cant (1999) Descending auditory pathways: Projections from the inferior colliculus contact superior olivary cells that project bilaterally to the cochlear nuclei. J. Comp. Neurol. 409:210-223.

1998 -- Cant, N.B. (1998) Structural development of the mammalian central auditory pathways. In: Development of the Auditory System. E. Rubel, R. Fay and A. Popper (eds). Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, Vol 9, R. Fay and A. Popper (series eds). Springer-Verlag, pp 315-414.

1986 -- Cant, N.B. and J.H. Casseday (1986) Projections from the anteroventral cochlear nucleus to the lateral and medial superior olivary nuclei. J. Comp. Neurol. 247: 457-476.