A5063809087- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Estrogen and related hormone effects
- Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Neonatal and fetal brain pathology
- Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Neuroscience of respiration and sleep
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Neurological disorders and treatments
- Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Categorization, perception, and language
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
- Cancer-related cognitive impairment studies
- Pharmacological Receptor Mechanisms and Effects
Concordia University
2012-2023
Douglas Mental Health University Institute
1997-2020
McGill University
1997-2020
University of California, Santa Barbara
2002-2007
Behavioral Pharma (United States)
2006
Rockefeller University
2000-2004
Hunter College
2004
Yale University
2004
Cornell University
2001-2004
Oregon National Primate Research Center
2002
Estrogen (E) treatment induces axospinous synapses in rat hippocampus vivo and cultured hippocampal neurons vitro . To better explore the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we have established a mouse model for E action by using Golgi impregnation to examine dendritic spine morphology, radioimmunocytochemistry (RICC) silver-enhanced immunocytochemistry expression levels of synaptic protein markers, hippocampal-dependent object-placement memory as behavioral readout actions E....
Abstract While many experiment with drugs, relatively few individuals develop a true addiction. We hypothesized that, in rats, such individual differences the actions of addictive drugs might be determined by postnatal rearing conditions. To test this idea, we investigated whether stimulant‐ and stress‐induced activation nucleus accumbens dopamine transmission dopamine‐dependent behaviours differ among adults rats that had been either repeatedly subjected to prolonged maternal separation or...
Abstract The quality of maternal care during early life has a dramatic impact on later stress reactivity and anxiety. Two inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6J BALB/cJ, differ in levels care, reactivity, anxiety‐like behavior adulthood. However, the relative contribution environmental factors genetic predisposition to differences these strains is not known. Maternal plasma corticosterone levels, emotionality, hippocampal paraventricular nucleus (PVN) glucocorticoid receptor mRNA were measured adult...
Structural studies have shown that estrogens increase dendritic spine number in the dorsal CA1 field of rat hippocampus using Golgi impregnation as well synapses visualized via electron microscopy. The present study was carried out to further these findings by examining changes levels pre- and postsynaptic proteins radioimmunocytochemistry (RICC). In this study, 2 days estradiol-benzoate treatment produced significant comparable increases synaptophysin, syntaxin, spinophilin immunoreactivity...
Thousands of children receive methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin) for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet the long-term neurochemical consequences MPH treatment are unknown. To mimic clinical Ritalin in children, male rats were injected with (5 mg/kg) or vehicle twice daily from postnatal day 7 (PND7)–PND35. At end administration (PND35) adulthood (PND135), brain sections littermate pairs immunocytochemically labeled neurotransmitters and cytological markers 16 regions implicated...
Estrogens rapidly affect dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the dorsal striatum (dSTR) and DA-related diseases, such as Parkinson's disease schizophrenia. How estrogens influence DA function remains unclear, part, because ultrastructural localization of estrogen receptors (ER) dSTR is not known. Light microscopic studies have suggested presence ER. This experiment used electron microscopy to determine whether these ER are at extranuclear sites dSTR, providing evidence for a mechanism through...
Abstract High plasma levels of estradiol (E2) are associated with use a place memory system over response system. We examined whether infusing into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) or anterior cingulate (AC) could affect bias in female rats. also ultrastructural distribution estrogen receptor (ER)-α, ERβ, and G protein-coupled 1 (GPER1) mPFC rats as mechanism for behavioral effects E2 mPFC. Each rat was infused bilaterally either (0.13 μg) vehicle AC. The majority used memory. In...
Obstetric complications involving anoxia or prolonged hypoxia are suspected to increase the risk for such mental disorders as schizophrenia and attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder. In previous studies, we reported evidence of enhanced nucleus accumbens (NAcc) dopamine (DA) function in adult rats subjected intrauterine during cesarean (C) section birth. present study, used voltammetry monoamine-sensitive electrodes investigate possibility that this functional hyperactivity meso-NAcc...
Abstract The role of estrogen (E) in promoting learning and memory females has been well studied both rodent primate models. In female rats, E increases dendritic spine number, synaptogenesis, synaptic proteins the CA1 region hippocampus, an area brain that mediates memory. present study, we used radioimmunocytochemistry to examine whether progesterone were capable modulating levels pre- postsynaptic nonhuman hippocampus. It was found increased syntaxin, synaptophysin (presynaptic),...
Abstract Estrogens affect dopamine‐dependent diseases/behavior and have rapid effects on dopamine release receptor availability in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Low levels of nuclear estrogen (ER) α ERβ are seen NAc, which cannot account for estrogens this region. G‐protein coupled ER 1 (GPER1) is observed at low NAc shell, also likely does not array estrogens’ Prior studies demonstrated membrane‐associated ERs dorsal striatum; these experiments extend those findings to core shell. Single‐...