College of Veterinary Medicine

Research in IPN

Robert C. Ritter, V.M.D., Ph.D.


  R-Ritter

Professor
Office: VBR 211
E-Mail: britter@vetmed.wsu.edu
Phone: (509) 335-8114


"Knowing When to Stop. Neurobiology of Controlling Food Size", WSU Universe Magazine, 1997.
"Why Can't we Stop Eating? Rats Develop Immunity to Fat", WSU Universe Magazine.
"Gut Feelings: Decoding the Signals that Control Appetite",  WSU The Innovators Series.

 

Research Interests

Obesity and diabetes are major causes of illness and death worldwide.  In the United States, one out of every three people is obese, and obesity is associated with marked increases in the incidence of cardiovascular, metabolic and neoplastic disease.  My research group investigates neural and endocrine controls of appetite and body weight.  We are interested in how signals from the gastrointestinal tract and body fat are used by the brain to control food intake and body weight.  Current areas of focus include the role of communication between the hindbrain and the hypothalamus for control of food intake by leptin; the mechanisms by which gastrointestinal hormones and growth factors act on the nervous system to reduce food intake; the participation of viscerosensory neurons and neurotransmitters in control of food intake and body adiposity.  Work in my laboratory is funded by grants from the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke and the National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases.



A hormone-secreting cell (green) making close contact with a nerve fiber (red) in the wall of the small intestine. Chemical communication between hormones and nerves in the gastrointestinal tract provides important signals that influence food intake and body weight.

 

Biographical Information

Robert C. Ritter, Professor, received a B.S. degree in biology from Valparaiso University in 1967, a V.M.D. in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974. He joined W.S.U. as an assistant professor of physiology in 1974.

Selected Reviews and Commentary

Ritter RC. 2004. Increased food intake and CCK receptor antagonists: beyond abdominal vagal afferents. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 286: R991-993

Ritter RC. 2004. Gastrointestinal mechanisms of satiation for food. Physiol Behav 81: 249-273

Peters JH, Simasko SM, Ritter RC. 2006.  Modulation of vagal afferent excitation and reduction of food intake by leptin and cholecystokinin. Physiol Behav 89: 477-485.

Selected Recent Publications

Covasa M and Ritter RC. 2005.  Reduced CCK-induced Fos expression in the hindbrain, nodose ganglia, and enteric neurons of rats lacking CCK-1 receptors. Brain Res 1051: 155-163.

Gillespie BR, Burns GA, and Ritter RC.  2005. NMDA Channels Control Meal Size via Central Vagal Afferent Terminals. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol.

Peters JH, McKay BM, Simasko SM, and Ritter RC. 2005.  Leptin-induced satiation mediated by abdominal vagal afferents. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 288: R879-884.

van de Wall EH, Duffy P, and Ritter RC. 2005.  CCK enhances response to gastric distension by acting on capsaicin-insensitive vagal afferents. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 289: R695-703.

Czaja K, Ritter RC, Burns GA. 2006. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit phenotypes of vagal afferent neurons in nodose ganglia of the rat. J Comp Neurol  496(6):877-85.

Peters JH, Simasko SM, Ritter RC. 2007.  Leptin analog antagonizes leptin effects on food intake and body weight but mimics leptin-induced vagal afferent activation. Endocrinology 148: 2878-2885. 

Guard DB, Swartz TD, Ritter RC, Burns GA, and Covasa M. 2009. Blockade of hindbrain NMDA receptors containing NR2 subunits increases sucrose intake. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 296: R921-928. 

Guard DB, Swartz TD, Ritter RC, Burns GA, and Covasa M. 2009. NMDA NR2 receptors participate in CCK-induced reduction of food intake and hindbrain neuronal activation. Brain Res 1266: 37-44. 


PubMed Publications (Note: This PubMed Search may produce additional "R Ritter" authors.)

Last Edited: Apr 09, 2013 10:21 AM   

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