University of Wisconsin–Madison
Department of Surgery
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Michelle R Ciucci, PhD

Associate Professor

Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

ciucci@surgery.wisc.edu
(608) 263-0192

1300 University Ave
MC 1509
Madison, WI 53706

Education

  • PhD, Speech and Hearing Science & Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ, 2006

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. Ciucci’s Lab

Recent Publications

    • Intervention changes acoustic peak frequency and mesolimbic neurochemistry in the Pink1-/- rat model of Parkinson disease.
    • Stevenson SA, Ciucci MR, Kelm-Nelson CA
    • PLoS ONE 2019; 14(8): e0220734
    • [PubMed ID: 31374106]
    • Laryngeal muscle biology in the Pink1-/- rat model of Parkinson disease.
    • Glass TJ, Kelm-Nelson CA, Russell JA, Szot JC, Lake JM, Connor NP, Ciucci MR
    • J. Appl. Physiol. 2019 May 01; 126(5): 1326-1334
    • [PubMed ID: 30844333]
    • Noradrenergic receptor modulation influences the acoustic parameters of pro-social rat ultrasonic vocalizations.
    • Grant LM, Barth KJ, Muslu C, Kelm-Nelson CA, Bakshi VP, Ciucci MR
    • Behav. Neurosci. 2018 Aug; 132(4): 269-283
    • [PubMed ID: 29985007]
    • Pink1 -/- Rats Show Early-Onset Swallowing Deficits and Correlative Brainstem Pathology.
    • Cullen KP, Grant LM, Kelm-Nelson CA, Brauer AFL, Bickelhaupt LB, Russell JA, Ciucci MR
    • Dysphagia 2018 12; 33(6): 749-758
    • [PubMed ID: 29713896]
    • Quantitative Analysis of Catecholamines in the Pink1 -/- Rat Model of Early-onset Parkinson's Disease.
    • Kelm-Nelson CA, Trevino MA, Ciucci MR
    • Neuroscience 2018 05 21; 379: 126-141
    • [PubMed ID: 29496635]

All Publications on PubMed