James Walton, PhD

Research Interests

Behavioral neuroscience
Behavioral neuroendocrinology
Biological rhythms

Stroke

Grants and Research

Currently Funded Projects

Alzheimer's Association: Circadian Rhythms in Sundowning and Alzheimer's Disease.

NIGMS: Sex Differences in Cognitive Recovery from Experimental Stroke. 

            A collaborative Team Science project with Drs. Shahrzad Latifi & Aminata Coulibaly.

Publications

Recent Publications

[2024]

·       Walton JC, Walker WH 2nd, Nelson RJ, DeVries AC. Time of day bias for biological sampling in studies of mammary cancer. Scientific Reports. 14(1):848. 

·       Liu JA, Bumgarner JR, Walker WH 2nd, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Chronic phase advances reduces recognition memory and increases vascular cognitive dementia-like impairments in aged mice. Scientific Reports. 2;14(1):7760. 

·       Hosseini SN, Walton JC, SheikhAnsari I, Kreidler N, Nelson RJ. An architectural solution to a biological problem: a systematic review of lighting designs in healthcare environments. Applied Sciences. 14(7):2495. 

·       Liu JA, Walker WH 2nd, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Bumgarner JR, Zhang N, Walton JC, Meares GP, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Dim light at night shifts microglia to a pro-inflammatory state after cerebral ischemia, altering stroke outcome in mice. Experimental Neurology. In press. 

[2023]

·       Walton JC, Nelson RJ. Therapeutic Aspects of Circadian Rhythms. Biomolecules. 13(8). 

·       Lahiri A, Walton JC, Zhang N, Billington N, DeVries AC, Meares GP. Astrocytic deletion of protein kinase R-like ER kinase (PERK) does not affect learning and memory in aged mice but worsens outcome from experimental stroke. Journal of Neuroscience Research. 101(10):1586-1610.

·       Bumgarner JR, Walker WH 2nd, Quintana DD, White RC, Richmond AA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Liu JA, Becker-Krail DD, Walton JC, Simpkins JW, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Acute exposure to artificial light at night alters hippocampal vascular structure in mice. iScience. 26(7):106996. 

·       Meléndez-Fernández OH, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. The role of daylight exposure on body mass in male mice. Physiology & Behavior. 266:114186.

[2022]

·       Walton JC, Bumgarner JR, Nelson RJ. Sex Differences in Circadian Rhythms. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. 14(7). 

·       Liu JA, Walton JC, Bumgarner JR, Walker WH 2nd, Meléndez-Fernández OH, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Chronic exposure to dim light at night disrupts cell-mediated immune response and decreases longevity in aged female mice. Chronobiology International. 39(12):1674-1683.

·       Nelson RJ, Bumgarner JR, Liu JA, Love JA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Becker-Krail DD, Walker WH 2nd, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Prendergast BJ. Time of day as a critical variable in biology. BMC Biology. 20(1):142.

·       Taylor JH, Walton JC, McCann KE, Norvelle A, Liu Q, Vander Velden JW, Borland JM, Hart M, Jin C, Huhman KL, Cox DN, Albers HE. CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the arginine-vasopressin V1a receptor produces paradoxical changes in social behavior in Syrian hamsters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.119(19):e2121037119. 

·       Walker WH 2nd, Kaper AL, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Bumgarner JR, Liu JA, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Time-restricted feeding alters the efficiency of mammary tumor growth. Chronobiology International. 239(4):535-546. 

[2021]

·       Walton JC, Walker WH 2nd, Bumgarner JR, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Liu JA, Hughes HL, Kaper AL, Nelson RJ. (2021) Circadian variation in efficacy of medications. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 109(6):1457-1488.

·       Walker WH 2nd, Kvadas RM, May LE, Liu JA, Bumgarner JR, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Dauchy RT, Blask DE, Nelson RJ. (2021) Artificial light at night reduces anxiety-like behavior in female mice with exacerbated mammary tumor growth. Cancers (Basel). 13(19).

·       Meléndez-Fernández OH, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. (2021) Clocks, rhythms, sex, and hearts: how disrupted circadian rhythms, time-of-day, and sex influence cardiovascular health. Biomolecules. 11(6).

·       Walker WH 2nd, Sprowls SA, Bumgarner JR, Liu JA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Walton JC, Lockman PR, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. Circadian Influences on Chemotherapy Efficacy in a Mouse Model of Brain Metastases of Breast Cancer. Frontiers in Oncology. 11:752331. 

·       Liu JA, Walton JC, DeVries AC, Nelson RJ. (2021) Disruptions of circadian rhythms and thrombolytic therapy during ischemic stroke intervention. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 15:675732.

·       Walker WH 2nd, Walton JC, Nelson RJ. (2021) Disrupted circadian rhythms and mental health. Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 179:259-270.

[2020]

·       McNeill JK 4th, Walton JC, Ryu V, Albers HE. (2020) The excitatory effects of GABA within the suprachiasmatic nucleus: regulation of Na-K-2Cl cotransporters (NKCCs) by environmental lighting conditions. Journal of Biological Rhythms. 35(3):275-286. 

·       Walker WH 2nd, Bumgarner JR, Walton JC, Liu JA, Meléndez-Fernández OH, Nelson RJ, DeVries AC. (2021) Light pollution and cancer. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 21(24).

·       Bumgarner, JR, Walker, WH 2nd, Liu, JA, Walton, JC, Nelson, RJ. (2020) Dim light at night exposure induces cold hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia in male mice. Neuroscience. 10:434:111-119.

·       Walker, WH 2nd, Walton, JC, DeVries, AC, Nelson, RJ. (2020) Circadian rhythm disruption and mental health. Translational Psychiatry. 23;10(1). 

·       Borland, JM, Walton, JC, Norvelle, A, Grantham, KN, Aiani, LM, Larkin, TE, McCann, KE, Albers, HE. (2020). Social experience and sex-dependent regulation of aggression in the lateral septum by extrasynaptic δGABAA receptors. Psychopharmacology. 237(2):329-344.