Author

James Timothy McKenna

Harvard UniversityORCID 0000-0002-9710-3553Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Approach:experimental assay· 7 Organism:mouse· 7 Research Focus:cell type annotation· 3 Assay:electronic health records· 2 Research Focus:benchmarking· 1 Research Focus:differential expression· 1 Research Focus:drug response / drug discovery· 1 Research Focus:software / tool· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Ritchie Edward BrowniD· 6 shared David S. UyguniD· 5 shared Fumi KatsukiiD· 5 shared James M. McNallyiD· 5 shared Radhika BasheeriD· 5 shared Chun Zhi YangiD· 3 shared Mackenzie C. GambleiD· 3 shared John G. McCoyiD· 2 shared

Activity by Year

2020-2026 · peak 2/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 40 mutual co-author links

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6 shared papersNeuroscience

Ritchie Edward BrownORCID

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Author profile →

7 papers

Recent·Most cited

Sustained Activation of a Defensive Behavior-Related Circuit Elicits a distinct Homeostatic Sleep Response

Chun Yang, Victoria Lombardi, David S. Uygun, Ritchie Edward Brown, James Timothy McKenna, Radhika Basheer

The paper compares homeostatic sleep responses after two types of wakefulness: gentle handling and optogenetic stimulation of defensive behavior-related neurons, finding distinct sleep recovery patterns.

bioRxiv · Oct 12, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Early Loss of Deep Restorative Sleep and Auditory Stimulus Evoked 40-Hz activity of Hippocampal Parvalbumin Neurons in the APP/PS1 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Fumi Katsuki, James M. McNally, Dmitry Gerashchenko, David S. Uygun, Alyssa Tyler, John G. McCoy, James Timothy McKenna, Ritchie Edward Brown

The paper identifies early loss of deep restorative sleep and 40-Hz activity in hippocampal PV neurons in APP/PS1 mice before cognitive deficits.

bioRxiv · Jul 1, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

SleepInvestigatoR: A flexible R function for analyzing scored sleep in rodents

Mackenzie C. Gamble, Benjamin R Williams, James Timothy McKenna, Ryan Wellington Logan

SleepInvestigatoR streamlines sleep analysis in rodents by automating calculations and visualization of sleep metrics from scored files.

SLEEP Advances · Apr 1, 2025Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Neuronal PAS domain 1 identifies a major subpopulation of wakefulness-promoting GABAergic neurons in basal forebrain

Timothy A. Troppoli, Chun Zhi Yang, Fumi Katsuki, David S. Uygun, Ilyan Lin, David D. Aguilar, Tristan J. Spratt, Radhika Basheer, James M. McNally, C. Savio Chan, James Timothy McKenna, Ritchie Edward Brown

This paper identifies Npas1+ neurons in the basal forebrain as a major GABAergic subpopulation involved in wakefulness and sleep regulation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · May 15, 2024Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Characterization of basal forebrain glutamate neurons suggests a role in control of arousal and avoidance behavior

James Timothy McKenna, Chun Zhi Yang, Thomas A. Bellio, Marissa B. Anderson‐Chernishof, Mackenzie C. Gamble, Abigail Hulverson, John G. McCoy, Stuart H. Winston, Erik L. Hodges, Fumi Katsuki, James M. McNally, Radhika Basheer, Ritchie Edward Brown

This study characterizes BF vGluT2 neurons, showing they project to arousal-related and aversive stimulus areas and induce avoidance behavior.

Brain Structure and Function · May 16, 2021Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

CRISPR knockdown of GABAA alpha3 subunits on thalamic reticular neurons enhances deep sleep

David S. Uygun, Chun Zhi Yang, Elena R. Tilli, Fumi Katsuki, James Timothy McKenna, James M. McNally, Ritchie Edward Brown, Radhika Basheer

bioRxiv · Dec 15, 2020 · PreprintNeuroscience

Basal forebrain parvalbumin neurons mediate arousals from sleep induced by hypercarbia or auditory stimuli

James Timothy McKenna, Stephen Thankachan, David S. Uygun, Charu Shukla, James M. McNally, Felipe L. Schiffino, Joshua Cordeira, Fumi Katsuki, Janneke C. Zant, Mackenzie C. Gamble, Karl A. Deisseroth, Robert W. McCarley, Ritchie Edward Brown, Robert E. Strecker, Radhika Basheer

This study identifies BF parvalbumin neurons as a key component of the brain circuitry mediating brief arousals from sleep in response to internal and external stimuli.

Current Biology · May 14, 2020Peer-reviewedNeuroscience