Academic Title(s)

• Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology

Bio

I received an Honors B.A. in Biology from the University of Delaware and a Ph.D. in Anatomy from Duke University, followed by postdoctoral training in neuroscience at Duke University. I have taught medical neuroscience to students in medical, physical therapy, pharmacy and graduate schools at Duke University, the University of South Dakota and the University of Louisville as well as NEOMED. I have received several awards including the CP White Research Fellowship (U. of Delaware); James A. Shannon Director’s Award (NIH); American Medical Women’s Association Gender Equity Award (U. of Louisville); and the Outstanding Faculty Research Award (NEOMED). I moved to NEOMED in 2005 as a founding member of the Hearing Research Group. My research on the functional anatomy of the brain’s hearing circuits has been funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1998.

Area of Expertise/Research Interests

My research focuses on brain circuits that allow us to hear. Acetylcholine and GABA are chemicals used for communication between nerve cells that are important in many aspects of hearing, including selective attention, learning and understanding speech. These nerve cells also help the brain adapt during development, during aging and after damage of the ear or brain. How are nerve cells wired into circuits that perform all these functions? My long term goal is to understand how neurons that use acetylcholine, GABA or other neurotransmitters are interconnected to allow us to hear our world.

Educational Background

• Ph.D. in Anatomy, Duke University, 1986
• Honors BA, University of Delaware, 1981

Courses

• Medical Neuroscience (Medical and Graduate Students)
• Brain Mind and Behavior (Graduate Students)
• Current Research in Auditory Neurobiology (Graduate Students)

Awards

• NIH/NIDCD R01 DC004391. Modulatory Circuits in the Auditory System. 9/1/16 – 8/31/21.
• NIH/NIDCD R01 DC016918 Neuronal Hyperactivity: Tinnitus and Distress. 1/1/19 – 12/31/23
• NIH/NIDCD R01 DC018284 subaward. Circuit Mechanisms for Auditory Processing in the Inferior Colliculus

Distinctions

• Graduate Faculty Advising Status College of Graduate Studies

Presentations

• International Symposium on the Central Auditory System, Salamanca, Spain, May 2001.
• International Symposium on Central Auditory Processing: Integration with Other Systems; Ascona, Switzerland, May 2002.
• Shanghai International Conference on Physiological Biophysics – Audition and Vision, Shanghai, China, November, 2006.
• The Auditory Brain –Satellite Meeting of the International Brain Research Organization, Lorne, Victoria, Australia, July, 2007.
• Gordon Research Conference: The Plastic and Dynamic Auditory System, July 10-15, 2016.

Publications

• Schofield BR, Beebe NL. 2018 Subtypes of GABAergic cells in the inferior colliculus. Hearing Res. 2018 Oct 4. pii: S0378-5955(18)30401-5. doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.10.001. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 30314930.
• Beebe NL, Mellott JG, Schofield BR. 2018 Inhibitory Projections from the Inferior Colliculus to the Medial Geniculate body Originate from Four Subtypes of GABAergic Cells. eNeuro. 2018 Nov 14;5(5). pii: ENEURO.0406-18.2018. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0406-18.2018.
• Schofield BR, Mellott JG, Motts SD. 2014 Subcollicular projections to the auditory thalamus and collateral projections to the inferior colliculus. Frontiers in Neuroanatomy 2014 Jul 18;8:70. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2014.00070.
• Schofield BR, Hurley L. 2018 Circuits for Modulation of Auditory Function; in Springer Handbook of Auditory Research Vol. 65, The Mammalian Auditory Pathways: Synaptic Organization and Microcircuits. Oliver DL, Cant NB, Fay RR, Popper AN, editors. Switzerland: Springer; 2018. p.235-267.
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/brett.schofield.1/bibliography/41465836/public/?sort=date&direction=descending