Active question · published background
Which neuronal and astrocytic mechanisms sustain breathing rhythm and cardiorespiratory homeostasis?
We study how neurons and astrocytes generate and regulate breathing rhythm and cardiorespiratory homeostasis.
Respiratory Neurodynamics · Universidad Autónoma de Chile
Neural and glial control of breathing
We investigate how brainstem neurons and astrocytes regulate breathing, and how these signals relate to physiology, cognition, and disease.
- Focus
- Brainstem neurons and astrocytes
- Models
- Intermittent hypoxia and cortical ischemia
- Measurements
- Physiology, electrophysiology, and microscopy
Institute of Biomedical SciencesHuechuraba · Santiago, Chile
Breathing feels automatic. For the brain, it is a task coordinated second by second.
As we sleep, walk, or exercise, the body’s needs change. Brain circuits receive that information and adjust the breathing rhythm without requiring conscious thought.
Part of this work takes place in the brainstem, where neurons and astrocytes participate in networks that generate and modulate breathing. Dr. Esteban Díaz Jara studies how these cells coordinate and how their signals relate to respiratory, cardiovascular, and brain activity.
The laboratory examines what changes during intermittent hypoxia or after ischemic brain injury. To follow the process from the cell to the whole organism, it combines physiology, electrophysiology, microscopy, and data analysis.
The question connecting the work
How does coordination among cells and respiratory circuits change before disruption becomes visible across the whole organism?
Three concepts for reading this site
- Brainstem
- The region linking the brain and spinal cord, involved in essential automatic functions, including breathing.
- Astrocyte
- A glial cell that maintains the neuronal environment and also participates in communication within neural circuits.
- Preclinical model
- An experimental system used to test a biological mechanism; its results do not translate directly to what occurs in patients.
Research
Three questions organizing our current work
From cellular mechanisms to cognition, we study how breathing is generated, how it synchronizes other brain networks, and what changes in disease.
Developing research line
How do respiratory oscillations couple with cortical and hippocampal activity?
We investigate how respiratory oscillations synchronize cortical and hippocampal circuits.
Previous evidence · new models active
How do breathing, brain activity, and disease progression modify one another?
We examine the two-way relationship between brain alterations, respiratory function, physiology, and cognition.
DJL / IMAGE REGISTER / 01–03
Images treated as evidence, not decoration
These acquisitions are shown in their original channels. Anatomy, markers, and scale are attributed only when the associated experimental record supports them.
- Record status
- Provisional description
- Publication criterion
- Do not infer cell identity, anatomical region, or scale from an isolated image.
Methods
From perturbation to an interpretable record
We combine disease models, physiological recordings in awake animals, microscopy, electrophysiology, and computational analysis to connect cellular changes with cardiorespiratory and brain activity.
Techniques- 01Manipulate: Models and causality
Defined perturbations for testing causal relationships in circuits and cell populations.
- 02Measure: Physiology in real time
Synchronized time series of ventilation, cardiovascular variables, and neuronal activity.
- 03Visualize: Cells and circuits
Cell distribution, morphology, and calcium signals in defined cells and circuits.
- 04Analyze: Signals and structure
Reproducible metrics, temporal relationships, and interpretable multivariate patterns.
Current funding
ANID and FONDECYT projects
The program receives funding to investigate neural cardiorespiratory control and astrocyte signaling.
No. 85250074
Academic installation of Dr. Esteban Díaz Jara… neural cardiorespiratory control in cardiometabolic and genetic diseases
Dr. Esteban Díaz Jara · End date:
No. 3260612
Astrocyte Activation in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarii Drives Cardiorespiratory Disorders in the Early Stages of Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia: The Role of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress and Glutamate Spillover
Dr. Esteban Díaz Jara · End date:
Scientific record
Recent publications
A selection of recent papers from Esteban Díaz-Jara’s scientific record. Each entry links to its editorial source, while the catalog preserves its bibliographic provenance.
Explore all publications- 01
Carotid bodies mediate glial cell activation and neuroinflammation in the NTS following long-term intermittent hypoxia: role in cardiorespiratory dysfunction
Katherin V. Pereyra, Esteban Díaz‐Jara et al.
Open access13 Scholar citations - 02
Chemogenetic inhibition of NTS astrocytes normalizes cardiac autonomic control and ameliorate hypertension during chronic intermittent hypoxia
Katherin V. Pereyra, Alexandra Las Heras et al.
Open access11 Scholar citations - 03
Cardiorespiratory alterations following intermittent photostimulation of RVLM C1 neurons: Implications for long‐term blood pressure, breathing and sleep regulation in freely moving rats
Camilo Toledo, David C. Andrade et al.
18 Scholar citations
Team
People and experimental work
Esteban Díaz Jara leads the scientific program; Sinay C. Vicencio Orellana coordinates laboratory operations and contributes to molecular biology, physiology, and microscopy.
View profiles and rolesTheses · collaboration · training
Contact informationScientific conversations around a concrete problem
We can talk with students and researchers who bring a defined question in respiratory neurophysiology, astrocyte signaling, microscopy, or computational analysis.