Dr. Walton earned his BS in Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Southern Maine. While at USM he worked with Dr. Louis Gainey investigating seasonal changes in the pharmacology and neural control of gill function in molluscs. He then moved to Bowdoin College where he worked in the lab of Dr. Rick Thompson using comparative approaches in diverse species ranging from goldfish to humans to study the central control of social behavior by the vasotocin/vasopressin family of peptides. While in the Thompson lab, Dr. Walton pioneered the use of indwelling chronic cannula implanted into the brains of goldfish to investigate the effects of peptides and other chemicals on social behaviors. Following a move to Ohio he worked for Dr. Randy Nelson and Dr. Courtney DeVries at The Ohio State University, where he managed their research labs and the NINDS Rodent Behavioral Phenotyping Core, prior to transitioning into graduate school. In his dissertation research with Dr. Randy Nelson he characterized how season of the year, encoded by day length, affects structural, physiological, and behavioral plasticity in the brains of white-footed mice, which are small rodents indigenous to northern North America. Continuing his research on social behavior and biological rhythms at Georgia State University in the Neuroscience Institute and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Dr. Walton is now an NIH Postdoctoral Scholar in the lab of Dr. Elliott Albers. His current research projects focus on two main areas of investigation:
1) Biological Rhythms
- Circadian rhythms and the functions of GABAA receptor subtypes in photic entrainment and circadian phase-specific responses to GABA in the central circadian pacemaker (the suprachiasmatic nucleus) in Syrian hamsters
- The role of store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in circadian entrainment
- Non-synaptic release of peptides and neurotransmitters in circadian entrainment
- Site-specificity within the circadian timing system of the effects of benzodiazepines on circadian rhythms
2) Neuroendocrinology of Social Behavior
- The role of non-synaptic (dendritic) peptide release and volume transmission within the anterior hypothalamus in social behavior
- The interaction of αMSH and vasopressin affecting social communication in Syrian hamsters