Associate Professor
CH 238
(205) 975-7222
Research and Teaching Interests: The expression and function of acetylcholine receptors in the retina, retinal anatomy, retinal development, developmental neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience
Office Hours: By appointment
Education:
- B.S., University of Miami, Art Education
- M.A., Vermont College of Norwich University, Art Therapy
- Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Behavioral Neuroscience
Christianne Strang is a board-certified art therapist with 35 years of clinical art therapy experience. She earned her M.A. in Art Therapy from Vermont College of Norwich University in 1987. Dr. Strang received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2004. She joined the faculty of Department of Psychology in 2015. She is a past president of the American Art therapy Association and has served as treasurer for the American Art Therapy Association and for the Art Therapy Credentials Board.
Dr. Strang’s research interests include the application of neuroscience to clinical practice in art therapy and the study of retinal anatomy and physiology in health and disease. She is skilled in molecular, imaging, and electrophysiological techniques.
Dr. Strang teaches basic and advanced behavioral neuroscience courses, receiving the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in March of 2015, and the Blazer Way Award in 2022. She is course director for the UAB introductory graduate introductory neurobiology courses held at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
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Select Publications
Book Chapters
- Keyser, K.T., Wotring V.E., & Strang, C.E. (2017) The Role of Acetylcholine and its Receptors in Retinal Processing. In Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology, Elsevier, 2017.
- Keyser, K.T., & Strang, C.E. (2009). Optical Imaging of Cancer: Enhancing Detection and Resection. In Optical Imaging in Cancer, Rosenthal EN & Zinn, KR, Eds. New York, NY: Springer.
- Keyser, K.T., Wotring, V.E., & Strang, C.E. (2010) Nicotinic receptor expression in the retina. 204. In Encyclopedia of the Eye, Vol 4 (pp. 153). Besharse, J., Co- Editor, Dartt, D, Editor-in-Chief. Elsevier: Oxford, UK.
Articles
- Oliveira-Souza F.G., DeRamus M.L., van Groen T., Lambert A.E., Bolding M.S., Strang C.E. (2017) Retinal Changes in the Tg-SwDI Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. Neuroscience 354:43-53DOI:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.04.021 PMCID: PMC5495115.
- Strang, C.E., Long, Y.,Gavrikov, K.E., Amthor, F.R., Keyser, K.T. (2015) Nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors shape ganglion cell response properties. Journal of Neurophysiology, 113(1), 203-17. doi: 10.1152/jn.00405.2014. Epub 2014 Oct 8. PMCID: PMC4294565
- Smith, M.L., Oliveira Souza, F.G., Bruce, K.S., Strang, C.E., Morely, B.J., Keyser, K.T. (2014) Acetylcholine receptors in the retinas of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor knockout mouse. Molecular Vision, 20, 1328-1356.
- Hannibal, L., Kankipati, L., Strang, C.E., Peterson, B.B., Dacey, D., Gamlin, P.D. (2014). Central projections of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the macaque monkey. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 522(10), 2231-2248. doi: 10.1002/cne.23555. PMCID: PMC3996456.
- Strang, C.E., Renna, J.M., Amthor, F.R., Keyser, K.T. (2010) Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor Localization and Modulation of Ganglion Cell Responses. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 51, 2778-2789.
- Lui, J., McGlinn, A., Fernandes, A., Milam, A.H., Strang, C.E., Andison, M.E., Lindstrom, J.M., Keyser, K.T., Stone, R.A. (2009) Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunits in Rhesus Monkey Retina. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 50, 1408-1415.
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Research Interests
The Strang Lab uses electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry and imaging techniques to study the functional effects of activation of neuronal nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) in the retina in health and in disease states. ACh release in the retina affects the response properties of many types of ganglion cells through the activation of both nicotinic and muscarinic AChRs, but until recently there little has been known about the receptors involved, or the mechanisms by which these effects are mediated. Understanding the fundamentals of visual processing in healthy retinas will allow for insight into the effects of decreased ACh in disease processes such as Alzheimer's disease.