Michelle R Ciucci, PhD
Professor
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
1300 University Ave
MC 1509
Madison, WI 53706
Education
- PhD, Speech and Hearing Science & Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ
Research Interests
Dr. Ciucci’s research interests focus on the neurobiological and behavioral underpinnings of cranial sensorimotor control. She is currently exploring the effects of degenerative neurologic disease-induced deficits on voice, speech, and swallowing (oromotor function) using both clinical and basic science methods. Her clinical studies on swallowing focus on the fine motor skills required to generate subtle changes in pressure generation during the pharyngeal stage of swallowing, considering the influence of disease state, therapy, and medications on these processes. She also studies Parkinson disease to examine the impact of early sensorimotor training approaches on functional improvement of vocalization and swallow behaviors, as well as the underlying neural substrates of exercise-induced brain changes. She explores how anti-Parkinson medications influence complex sensorimotor enrichment outcomes. Dr. Ciucci believes understanding these processes will lead to better treatments and functional outcomes for patients with Parkinson disease and other neurologic disorders.
Dr. Michelle Ciucci and Dr. Nadine Connor were recently awarded a five-year, $3.8 million federal research grant to study swallowing problems that can occur in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Read more here.
Recent Publications
Methylphenidate differentially affects the social ultrasonic vocalizations of wild-type and prodromal Parkinsonian rats.
Lechner SA, Kelm-Nelson CA, Ciucci MR
Behav Neurosci 2024 Nov 07;
[PubMed ID: 39509189]Stress-Induced Ultrasonic Vocalization in Laboratory Rats and Mice: A Scoping Review.
Venkatraman A, Bretl M, Kim SI, Christensen L, Kelm-Nelson CA, Ciucci MR, Thibeault SL
Brain Sci 2024 Oct 31; 14(11)
[PubMed ID: 39595872]Positron emission tomography neuroimaging of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and related behavior in the Pink1-/- rat model of Parkinson disease.
Converse AK, Krasko MN, Rudisch DM, Lunaris CL, Nisbet AF, Slesarev MS, Szot JC, Hoerst AG, Leverson GE, Gallagher CL, Ciucci MR
Front Neurosci 2024; 18: 1451118
[PubMed ID: 39474461]Effects of chemoradiation and tongue exercise on swallow biomechanics and bolus kinematics.
Schaen-Heacock NE, Rowe LM, Ciucci MR, Russell JA
Head Neck 2025 Jan; 47(1): 355-370
[PubMed ID: 39150237]Early ultrasonic vocalization deficits and related thyroarytenoid muscle pathology in the transgenic TgF344-AD rat model of Alzheimer's disease.
Rudisch DM, Krasko MN, Barnett DGS, Mueller KD, Russell JA, Connor NP, Ciucci MR
Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17: 1294648
[PubMed ID: 38322496]