Silvia Pagliardini

Associate Professor
PhD, University of Alberta


Office: 3-020F Katz Group - Rexall Centre
Laboratory: 3108  Katz Group - Rexall Centre
Email address: silviap@ualberta.ca 

Laboratory Website

 

Research Interests / Academic Activities

Breathing is an automatic behaviour that is essential for mammalian life and requires a coordinated contraction of respiratory muscles that must occur continuously, from birth until the last breath. In humans and other mammals the part of the brain that controls respiratory activity is the brainstem, where specialized groups of neurons generate a continuous rhythm that ultimately drives respiratory muscles. 

Respiratory activity is also highly influenced by brain states, with disturbances occurring most frequently during sleep, when voluntary respiratory control is lacking, and chemosensitive and propriosensory feedback systems are often insufficient to maintain the respiratory drive and the upper airway patency, causing sleep disordered breathing (obstructive or central sleep apneas, hypoventilation syndromes).

Research conducted in my laboratory aims to gain an understanding of the neuronal mechanisms that control breathing and affect its function, especially during sleep, when the majority of respiratory disorders of central origin occur. We use a combination of physiological, anatomical, pharmacological, chemogenetic and optogenetic techniques to determine the contribution of key brainstem areas to ventilation in health and disease .More recently we also became interested in investigating the effects on ventilation of cannabinoids on both sleep and breathing and the effects of sex hormones on breathing and chemosensitivity. 

Course coordinator for PHYSL461, 467, 468 and 469

 

Select Publications

  1. S. Cardani#, T.A. Janes#, J.K. Saini, R. Benfante, D. Fornasari, S. Pagliardini* (2022) Etonogestrel administration reduces expression of Phox2B and its target genes in the solitary tract nucleus. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 4816. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094816 (#, co-first authors; * corresponding author). 
  2. JK Saini, TA Janes, JE MacLean, S. Pagliardini* (2021). Expiratory Abdominal Muscle Activity During Infant Sleep. In press, Journal of Sleep Research. J Sleep Res. 2021 Dec 18:e13539. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13539. 
  3. V. Biancardi, J. Saini, A. Pageni, H. Prashaad, G.D. Funk, S. Pagliardini* (2021). Mapping of the excitatory, inhibitory, and modulatory afferent projections to the active expiratory oscillator in adult male rats. J Comp Neurol. 2021 Mar;529(4):853-884. doi: 10.1002/cne.24984. 
  4. A. Pisanski, X. Ding, N. Koch, S. Pagliardini *(2020) Chemogenetic modulation of the parafacial respiratory group influences the recruitment of abdominal activity during REM sleep. Sleep. 2020 May 12;43(5):zsz283. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsz283. 
  5. A. Pisanski, S. Pagliardini* (2019).  The parafacial respiratory group and the control of active expiration (2018), Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2019 Jul; 265:153-160. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2018.06.010. 
  6. J.K. Saini, S. Pagliardini* (2017). Breathing during sleep in the postnatal period of rats: the contribution of expiration. Sleep. 2017 Dec 1;40(12). doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsx172.
  7. R. Boutin‡, Z. Alsahafi‡, S. Pagliardini*. (2017) Cholinergic neurotransmission in the paraFacial Respiratory Group modulates active expiration. J Physiol. Feb 15; 595(4):1377-1392. doi: 10.1113/JP273012 
  8. P. Li#, W.A. Janczewski#, K.Yackle#, K. Kam, S. Pagliardini, M.A. Krasnow, J.L. Feldman* (2016). The central control circuit for sighing. Nature. 2016 Feb 18; 530(7590):293-7. doi: 10.1038/nature16964 
  9. C. Andrews, S. Pagliardini* (2015). Expiratory activation of abdominal muscle is associated with improved respiratory stability and an increase in ventilation in REM epochs of adult rats J Appl Physiol, 119(9):968-74.
  10. Z. Alsahafi, C.T. Dickson, S. Pagliardini* (2015). Optogenetic excitation of preBötzinger Complex neurons potently drives inspiratory activity in vivo. J Physiol. 593(16):3673-92. 
  11. S. Pagliardini*, S. Gosgnach, C.T. Dickson (2013). Spontaneous sleep-like brain state alternations and breathing characteristics in urethane anesthetized mice. PLOS ONE. 8(7):e70411. 
  12. S. Pagliardini*, G.D. Funk, C.T. Dickson (2013). Breathing and brain state: urethane anesthesia as a model for natural sleep. Resp Physiol Neurobiol 188(3):324-32. 
  13. S. Pagliardini*, J.J. Greer, G.D. Funk, C.T. Dickson (2012). State dependent modulation of breathing in urethane anesthetized rats. J. Neurosci. 32(33) 11259-70. 
  14. S. Pagliardini, W.A. Janczewski, W. Tan, C.T. Dickson, K. Deisseroth,  J.L. Feldman* (2011). Active expiration induced by excitation in ventral medulla in adult anesthetized rats. J Neurosci. 31(8):2895-905. 

 

Laboratory Members

Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. Vivian Biancardi Rossato
Dr. Tara Janes
Dr. Silvia Cardani 

Graduate Students
Annette Hernandez Abad (Pisanski) 
Jasmeen Saini 
Ismail Babale
Gabriele Matteoli* (Visiting graduate student, University of Bologna, Italy) 

Technician
Xiuqing Ding