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
Positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging of the Pink1-/- rat Parkinson disease model with the norepinephrine transporter (NET) ligand [18F]NS12137.
Converse AK, Krasko MN, Rudisch DM, Slesarev MS, Szot JC, Gallagher CL, Ciucci MR
J Neurosci 2025 Jun 04;
[PubMed ID: 40467302]Defining Pharyngeal and Upper Esophageal Sphincter Disorders on High-Resolution Manometry-Impedance: The Leuven Consensus.
Omari TI, Maclean JCF, Cock C, McCulloch TM, Nativ-Zeltzer N, O'Rourke AK, Szczesniak MM, Wu PI, Allen J, Aoyagi Y, Bayona HHG, Carrión S, Ciucci MR, Davidson K, Dhar SI, Hamdy S, Howell R, Jones C, Knigge MA, Moonen A, Postma GN, Puntil-Sheltman J, Rameau A, Regan J, Schar M, Rommel N
Neurogastroenterol Motil 2025 Apr 09; e70042
[PubMed ID: 40202098]Corrigendum to ' The role of ultrasonic vocalizations in rat laryngological investigations' [Physiology & Behavior volume 294 (2025) start page 1 -end page 10 /article number 114887].
Shembel AC, Johnson AM, Ciucci MR, Lunaris CL, Morrison RA, Rudisch DM
Physiol Behav 2025 Jun 01; 295: 114907
[PubMed ID: 40185217]The role of ultrasonic vocalizations in rat laryngological investigations.
Shembel AC, Johnson AM, Ciucci MR, Lunaris CL, Morrison RA, Rudisch DM
Physiol Behav 2025 May 15; 294: 114887
[PubMed ID: 40118131]Methylphenidate differentially affects the social ultrasonic vocalizations of wild-type and prodromal Parkinsonian rats.
Lechner SA, Kelm-Nelson CA, Ciucci MR
Behav Neurosci 2025 Feb; 139(1): 1-9
[PubMed ID: 39509189]