Timothy Balmer
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Mail code: 4501Campus: Tempe
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Dr. Balmer is interested in how sensory signals are processed by the brain with a focus on hearing and balance. His work investigates how neurons transmit signals to one another through synapses and how networks of neurons process information. His team uses in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, immunohistochemistry, and computational modeling, to understand fundamental mechanisms of sensory processing. Dr. Balmer's work contributes to our understanding of hearing and balance and their associated disorders including tinnitus and balance disorders.
Ph.D., Neuroscience, Georgia State University, 2014
B.A., Psychology, University of Puget Sound, 2006
Hariani HN, Algstam AB, Candler CT, Witteveen IF, Sidhu JK, Balmer TS (2023) A system of feed-forward cerebellar circuits that extend and diversify sensory signaling. eLife 12:RP88321.
Balmer TS, Trussell LO (2022) Descending axonal projections from the inferior colliculus target nearly all excitatory and inhibitory cell types of the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus. J Neurosci 42: 338-3391.
Balmer TS, Trussell LO (2021) Trigeminal contributions to the dorsal cochlear nucleus in mouse. Front Neurosci. 15:715954
Balmer TS, Borges-Merjane C, Trussell LO (2021) Incomplete removal of extracellular glutamate controls synaptic transmission and integration at a cerebellar synapse. eLife 10:e63819.
Balmer TS, Trussell LO (2019) Selective targeting of unipolar brush cell subtypes by cerebellar mossy fibers. eLife 8:e44964.
Mudd DB, Balmer TS, Kim SY, Machhour N, Pallas SL (2019) TrkB Activation During a Critical Period Mimics the Protective Effects of Early Visual Experience on Perception and the Stability of Receptive Fields in Adult Superior Colliculus. J Neurosci 39: 4775-4488.
Moore AK, Weible AP, Balmer TS, Trussell LO, Wehr M (2018) Rapid rebalancing of excitation and inhibition by cortical circuitry. Neuron 97: 1-15.
Lu HW, Balmer TS, Romero GE & Trussell, LO (2017) Slow AMPAR Synaptic Transmission Is Determined by Stargazin and Glutamate Transporters. Neuron 96:73-80.e74.
Balmer TS, Trussell LO (2016) Quantum Disentanglement: Electrical Analysis of the Complex Roles of Ions in Filling Vesicles with Glutamate. Neuron 90: 667-669.
Balmer TS (2016) Perineuronal nets enhance the excitability of fast-spiking neurons. eNeuro 3.
Balmer TS, Pallas SL (2015) Visual experience prevents dysregulation of GABAB receptor-dependent short-term depression in adult superior colliculus. J Neurophysiol 113:2049-2061.
Balmer TS, Pallas SL (2015) Refinement but not maintenance of visual receptive fields is independent of visual experience. Cereb Cortex 25:904-917. Published online 2013.
Carrasco MM, Mao YT, Balmer TS, Pallas SL (2011) Inhibitory plasticity underlies visual deprivation-induced loss of receptive field refinement in the adult superior colliculus. Eur J Neurosci 33:58-68.
Balmer TS, Carels VM, Frisch JL, Nick TA (2009) Modulation of perineuronal nets and parvalbumin with developmental song learning. J Neurosci 29:12878-12885.
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 467 | Neurobiology |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 465 | Neurophysiology |
NEU 598 | Special Topics |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 465 | Neurophysiology |
NEU 598 | Special Topics |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
NEU 591 | Seminar |
BIO 465 | Neurophysiology |
NEU 598 | Special Topics |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BIO 467 | Neurobiology |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 467 | Neurobiology |