Zoology and Physiology

College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources

William (Trey) Todd

Associate Professor

Office: BS 406
Lab: BS 410
Email: wtodd3@uwyo.edu
Twitter: @wyoclock

Education:

• B.S., Neuroscience: Baylor University, 2005.
• M.A., Psychology: The University of Iowa, 2009.
• Ph.D., Psychology (Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience): The University of Iowa, 2012. Mentor: Mark S. Blumberg.
• Postdoctoral (Sleep, Circadian, and Respiratory Neurobiology): Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 2012-2019. Mentor: Clifford B. Saper.

Research Interests:
Circadian rhythms are an evolutionary adaptation to Earth’s 24-hour rotation and the resulting light-dark cycle.  The central circadian clock, located within the hypothalamus of the mammalian brain, senses such daily light-dark rhythms via direct photic input from the retina and, in turn, synchronizes physiological and behavioral rhythms to the 24-hour day.  My lab seeks to understand how the central circadian clock (and its input and output pathways) regulates such daily biological and behavioral timing, from sleep-wake rhythms to more complex behaviors including aggression.  My research also focuses on how such circuitry may be involved in neurobehavioral pathologies associated with circadian dysfunction and behavioral aggression, such as “sundowning syndrome” in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.  In addition to this ongoing work, I have a strong interest in developmental and comparative issues in circadian behavioral neuroscience, particularly in regard to differences between diurnal (day-active) and nocturnal (night-active) species.

Teaching:
Integrative Physiology (ZOO 4125) and Circadian and Sleep Physiology (ZOO 4735/5735)

Publications:

Nelson CF, Wyatt, CR, Johnson EC, Todd WD, Schmitt EE. Acute and lifelong endurance exercise yields differential effects during circadian disruption in mice. In press at Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2025 Jan 7. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003643. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39763085.

Bettadapura S, Todd WD, McGinnis G, Bruns DR. Circadian biology of cardiac aging. Invited review. In press at Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology. 2025 Feb;199:95-103. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2024.12.001. Epub 2025 Jan 2. PMID: 39753393.

Klett N, Gompf HS, Allen CN, Cravetchi O, Hablitz LM, Gunesch AN, Irwin RP, Todd WD, Saper CB, Fuller PM. GABAergic signaling in the suprachiasmatic nucleus is required for coherent circadian rhythmicity. European Journal of Neuroscience. 024 Dec;60(11):6652-6667. doi: 10.1111/ejn.16582. Epub 2024 Nov 18. PMID: 39558544; PMCID: PMC11612841.

Jeffs QL, Prather JF, Todd WD*. Potential neural substrates underlying circadian and olfactory disruptions in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2023. 17: 1295998. PMID: 38094003. *corresponding author.

Warfield AE, Gupta P, Ruhmann MM, Jeffs QL, Guidone GC, Rhymes HW, Thompson MI, Todd WD*. A brainstem to the circadian system circuit links Tau pathology to sundowning-related disturbances in Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. Nature Communications. 2023. 14(1): 5027. PMID: 37596279. *corresponding author.

Yusifova M, Yusifov A, Polson SM, Todd WD, Schmitt EE, Bruns DR. Voluntary wheel running exercise does not attenuate circadian and cardiac dysfunction caused by conditional deletion of Bmal1. Journal of Biological Rhythms. 2023. Feb 20:7487304231152398. PMID: 36802963.

De Luca R*, Todd WD*, Burgess CR*. Editorial: Novel pharmacological treatments in sleep disorders. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2022. 16:1086983. PMID: 36532280. *corresponding author.

Machado NLS, Todd WD, Kaur S, Saper CB. Median preoptic GABA and glutamate neurons exert differential control over sleep behavior. Current Biology. 2022. May 9;32(9):2011-2021.e3. PMID: 35385692; PMCID: PMC9090993.

Warfield AE, Prather JF, Todd WD*. Systems and circuits linking chronic pain and circadian rhythms. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2021. 15: 705173. PMID: 34276301. *corresponding author.

Todd WD*. Potential pathways for circadian dysfunction and sundowning-related behavioral aggression in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2020. 14: 910. PMID: 33013301. Invited review. *corresponding author.

Todd WD, Venner A, Anaclet C, Broadhurst RY, De Luca R, Bandaru SS, Issokson L, Hablitz LM, Rigovich O, Arrigoni E, Campbell JN, Allen CN, Olson DP, Fuller PM. Suprachiasmatic VIP neurons are required for normal circadian rhythmicity and comprised of molecularly distinct subpopulations. Nature Communications. 2020. 11(1): 4410. PMID: 32879310.

Kaur S, DeLuca R, Khanday MA, Bandaru SS, Broadhurst RY, Venner A, Todd WD, Fuller PM, Arrigoni E, Saper CB. Role of serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons in hypercapnia-induced arousals. Nature Communications. 2020. 11 (1): 2769. PMID: 32488015.

Venner A, Broadhurst RY, Sohn L, Todd WD, Fuller PM. Selective activation of dorsal raphe serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons facilitates sleep through anxiolysis. Sleep. 2020. 43 (2): 1-12. PMID: 31553451.

Venner A, Todd WD, Fraigne J, Eban-Rothschild A, Bowery H, Kaur S, Anaclet, C. Novel sleep-wake and circadian pathways for therapeutic potential. Sleep. 2019. 42 (5): 1-14. PMID: 30722061. Invited review.

Todd WD*, Machado NL. A time to fight: circadian control of aggression and associated autonomic support. Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical. 2019. 217: 35-40. PMID: 30704973. Invited review. *corresponding author.

Todd WD, Fenselau H, Wang JL, Zhang R, Machado NL, Venner A, Broadhurst RY, Kaur S, Lynagh T, Olson DP, Lowell BB, Fuller PM, Saper CB. A hypothalamic circuit for the circadian control of aggression. Nature Neuroscience. 2018. 21 (5): 717-724. PMID: 29632359.

Blumberg MS, Gall AJ, Todd WD. The development of sleep-wake rhythms and the search for an elemental circuit. Behavioral Neuroscience. 2014. 128: 250-63. PMID: 24708298. Invited review.

Gall AJ, Todd WD, Blumberg MS. Development of SCN connectivity and the circadian control of arousal: A diminishing role for humoral factors? PLoS One. 2012. 7(9), e45338. PMID: 23028945.

Todd WD, Gall AJ, Weiner JA, Blumberg MS. Distinct retinohypothalamic innervation patterns predict the developmental emergence of species-typical circadian preference in nocturnal Norway rats and diurnal Nile grass rats. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 2012. 502: 3277-92. PMID: 22431036.

Campi KL, Collins CE, Todd WD, Kaas J, Krubitzer L. Comparison of area 17 cellular composition in laboratory and wild-caught rats including diurnal and nocturnal species. Brain Behavior and Evolution. 2011. 77: 116-30. PMID: 21525748.  

Todd WD, Gibson JL, Shaw CS, Blumberg MS. Brainstem and hypothalamic regulation of sleep pressure and rebound in newborn rats. Behavioral Neuroscience. 2010; 124:69-78. See comment. Corner MA. The sleep-like nature of early mammalian behavioral rhythms. Behavioral Neuroscience. 2010. 124: 69-78. PMID: 20141281.

Gall AJ, Todd WD, Ray B, Coleman CM, Blumberg MS. The development of day-night differences in sleep and wakefulness in Norway rats and the effect of bilateral enucleation. Journal of Biological Rhythms. 2008. 23: 232-41. PMID: 18487415.