Professor Donald Robertson

Short Biography

I did my undergraduate honours degree in Physiology at the University of Western Australia (Perth) under the supervision of one of the great names in modern auditory physiology, Brian Johnstone.

I left Perth after honours and did a short stint of research on the efferent control system in hearing with John Desmedt at The Brain Research Institute of The University of Brussels (Universite Libre de Bruxelles). I then moved on to Canada and did my PhD on the mechanisms of sharp tuning in the cochlea under the supervision of Geoffrey Manley at McGill University in Montreal. After that I did a 2 year stint as a postdoc working with John Desmedt in Brussels, this time on cognitive components of evoked cerebral potentials, before returning to Western Australia as  a Queen Elizabeth II Fellow. I subsequently took a lecturing position in physiology and have been here ever since, interrupted by immensely enjoyable and useful study leave sojourns in Melbourne (with Dexter Irvine), Madison, Wisconsin (with Donata Oertel), and Auckland with (Gary Housley).

I consider myself very lucky to be able to continue to work and teach in The Auditory Laboratory founded by my old mentor and to have daily contact with the other members of the lab who carry on the work started so many years ago.
 

Research-Physiology of Hearing and Deafness

I have engaged in neurophysiological research into mammalian hearing for over 30 years. My research achievements  include; 1)      First recordings from guinea pig spiral ganglion neurons inside the intact living cochlea 2)       Demonstration of the physiological vulnerability of sharp frequency selectivity in primary auditory afferent neurons 3)       Microelectrode recording and single cell labeling of afferent and efferent neurons, demonstrating the precise nature of efferent feedback from the brain to the inner ear 4)      First physiological and pharmacological characterization of olivocochlear efferent neurons in brain slices 5)      First demonstration (with D Irvine) of plasticity of frequency maps in the brain of partially deafened adult animals 6)      First full characterization (with D Oertel) in brain slices, of octopus cells of the auditory brainstem 7)      First demonstration (with W Mulders) of the effects of activation of the auditory midbrain on inner ear responses to sound 8)      Development of an in vitro whole cochlear slice preparation (with G Housley) 9)      First demonstration (with W Mulders, I Winter and A Paolini) of the physiological action of olivocochlear collaterals in the auditory brainstem.

I was the AuPS Invited Lecturer for the 2007 Scientific Meeting

Professional Activities:Ordinary member, Australian Physiological Society; Ordinary member, Australian Neuroscience Society; Ordinary member, American Association for Research in Otolaryngology; Ordinary member American Physiological Society;WA Representative Australian Physiological Society Council 2002-2004; Organizer of APPS Symposium on Mechanotransduction, Nov. 2002; Member of local organizing committee 2005 Australian Neuroscience Society Meeting, Perth;Local Secretary for 2005 Australasian Auditory Neuroscience Workshop; WA Representative Australian Neuroscience Society Council, 2008-.

Refereed Publications 2002-2008

Robertson, D. and Paki, B. (2002). A role for purinergic receptors at the inner hair cell-afferent synapse? Audiol. Neuro-Otol. 7, 62-67.

Robertson, D.and Paki, B. (2002). Role of L-Type Ca2+ Channels in Transmitter Release From Mammalian Inner Hair Cells. II single-neuron activity.  J. Neurophysiol. 87, 2734-2740.

Mulders W.H.A.M. and Robertson D. (2002) Inputs from the Cochlea and the Inferior Colliculus Converge on Olivocochlear Neurons. Hear Res. 167, 206-213.

Mulders, WHAM., Winter I.M. and Robertson D. (2002) Dual action of olivocochlear collaterals in the guinea pig cochlear nucleus. Hear Res. 174, 264-280 

Sellick, P.M., Patuzzi, R. and Robertson, D. (2003). Primary afferent and cochlear nucleus contributions to extracellular potentials during tone-bursts. Hear. Res. 176: 42-58.

Mulders, WHAM, Paolini A.G.,  Needham, K. and Robertson (2003) Olivococochlear collaterals evoke excitatory effects in onset neurons of the rat cochlear nucleus. Hear Res. 176: 113 - 121.

Sueta, T. , Paki, B. Everett, A.E., and Robertson, D. (2003). Purinergic Receptors in Auditory Neurotransmission.  Hear Res. 183: 97-108.

Zhang, S.Y.  and Robertson, D.  (2003). The electrophysiological change of the guinea pig cochlea caused by intracochlear perfusion of sodium salicylate. Lin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Ke Za Zhi. 17:551-553.

Mulders, WHAM and Robertson, D. (2004) Dopaminergic olivocochlear neurons originate in the high frequency region of the lateral superior olive of guinea pigs. Hear Res. 187: 122-130.

Sueta, Y., S.Y. Zhang, P. M. Sellick , R. Patuzzi and  D Robertson (2004). Effects of a Calcium Channel Blocker on Spontaneous Neural Noise and Gross Action Potential Waveforms in the Guinea Pig Cochlea. Hear Res. 188, 117-125.

Mulders, WHAM and Robertson, D. (2005) Diverse Responses of Single Auditory Afferent  Fibers to Electrical Stimulation of the Inferior Colliculus in Guinea Pig. Exp. Brain Res. 160:235-44.

Layton, M., Robertson, D., Everett, A.E., Mulders, W.H.A.M. and Yates, G.K. (2005).Cellular localization of voltage-gated calcium channels and synaptic vesicle-associated proteins in the guinea pig cochlea. J Molec Neurosci 27(2):225-44

Mulders, WHAM and Robertson, D. (2005) Noradrenergic modulaton of brainstem nuclei alters cochlear neural output. Hear Res.  204; 147-155.

Mulders WHAM and Robertson, D.  (2005) . Catecholaminergic innervation of the guinea pig superior olivary complex. J. Chem Neuroanat. 30, 230-242.

Sellick, PM., Robertson, D and Patuzzi, R. (2006). The effect of BAPTA and 4AP in scala media on transduction and cochlear gain. Hear Res. 211: 7-15.

 Mulders, WHAM and Robertson D (2006). Gentamycin abolishes all cochlear effects of electrical stimulation of the inferior colliculus. Exp. Brain Res. 174: 35-44

 Sellick, PM, Kirk, D, Robertson, D. and Patuzzi, R. (2007) Does BAPTA leave outer hair cell transduction channels closed? .Hear Res 224:84-92

Mulders, WHAM., Harvey, AR. Robertson D. (2007) Electrically-Evoked Responses in Onset Chopper Neurons in Guinea Pig Cochlear Nucleus. J Neurophysiol. 97: 3288-97.

Seluakumaran K, Mulders, WHAM, and Robertson D (2008) Effects of Olivocochlear activation on responses in the auditory midbrain. Exp Brain Res  186: 167-174

Layton, M. Sellick P Rodger J Robertson D (2008) A method for introducing nonsilencing siRNA into the guinea pig cochlea in vivo. J. Neurosci. Meth. 167: 237-245.

Mulders M. Seluakumaran K. and Robertson D. (2008) Effects of centrifugal pathways on responses of cochlear nucleus neurons to signals in noise. Eur. J Neurosci. (in press). 

Tan M. Robertson D and Hammond G.  (2008). Separate contributions of enhanced and suppressed sensitivity to the auditory attentional filter Hearing Res. (in press)

Seluakumaran K, Mulders, WHAM, and Robertson D (2008) Unmasking Effects of Olivocochlear Efferent Activation on Responses of Inferior Colliculus Neurons. Hearing Res. (in press)