John M. Connors, PhD

Associate Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Physiology and Pharmacology

Classification:

Faculty

Connors, John M., 1997 Physiology of the thyroid gland and agents affecting its secretion, In: Thomas, J.A. and Colby, H.D. (eds.), Endocrine Toxicology, Taylor and Francis, Washington, D.C., pp. 43-68.

Harris, C.L., Guner, G., Arbogast, J., Salati, L., Shumway, J.M., Connors, J., and Beattie, D. Integrated Problem Based Learning for First Year Medical Students: Does It Teach Biochemical Principles? Biochemical Education 25: 146-150, 1997.

Anderson, G.M., Connors, J.M., Hardy, S.L., Valent, M., Goodman, R.L. 2001 Oestradiol microimplants in the ventromedial preoptic area inhibit secretion of luteinising hormone via dopaminergic neurons in anoestrous ewes. J. Neuroendocrinol. 13: 1051-1058.

Anderson, G.M., Connors, J.M., Hardy, S.L., Valent, M., Goodman, R.L. 2002 Thyroid hormones mediate steroid-independent seasonal changes in luteinizing hormone pulse frequency in the ewe. Biol. Reprod. (In press)

Connors, J.M. 2002 Thyroid and Anti-thyroid Drugs. Chapter 69. In: Modern Pharmacology (Fifth Edition), C.R. Craig and R.E. Stitzel (eds.). Little Brown and Company, Boston.

Billings, H.J., Viguie, C., Karsch, F.J., Goodman, R.L., Connors, J.M., Anderson, G.M. 2002 Endocrinology (submitted).

Neuroendocrine control of the hypothalamus-pituitary thyroid axis and the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis; mechanisms responsible for seasonal reproductive function.

Currently, my primary research interest is the role of thyroid hormones in the functional and anatomical alterations that underlie seasonal reproductive activities in sheep. A key neural circuit that is involved in the inhibition of hypothalamic GnRH secretion is activated in the non-breeding season, but not in the breeding season. It appears that thyroid hormone is required to establish and/or activate this circuit at the onset of the non-breeding season, but not for the loss of inhibition with the onset of the breeding season. A wide variety of surgical (e.g., ovariectomy; thyroidectomy), as well as, neurosurgical (e.g., administration of drugs to selected areas of the brain; neuaral tract tracing) are utilized.