A5018685948- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Diet and metabolism studies
- Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Amino Acid Enzymes and Metabolism
- Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Metabolism and Genetic Disorders
- Treatment of Major Depression
- Hormonal Regulation and Hypertension
- Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Sexual function and dysfunction studies
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Cardiovascular Disease and Adiposity
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
- Pancreatic function and diabetes
University of South Carolina
2020-2024
Columbia VA Health Care System
2022-2024
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2012-2022
University of Lausanne
2017-2019
Florida State University
2009-2015
Significance Within a dominance hierarchy, low social status strongly reduces individual well-being. In socially living species, rank in hierarchy is determined through competitive encounters. Despite the numerous health consequences, ability of personality traits to predispose individuals particular remains largely unclear. Our work identifies trait anxiety as predisposing factor subordinate rank. We demonstrate that mitochondrial function nucleus accumbens, brain region relevant for...
Benzodiazepines can ameliorate social disturbances and increase competition, particularly in high-anxious individuals. However, the neural circuits mechanisms underlying benzodiazepines' effects competition are not understood. Converging evidence points to mesolimbic system as a potential site of action for at least some benzodiazepine-mediated effects. Furthermore, mitochondrial function nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been causally implicated link between anxiety competitiveness. Here, we show...
Abstract The molecular signature underlying autism spectrum disorder remains largely unknown. This study identifies differential expression of mTOR and MAPK pathways in patients affected by mild severe idiopathic autism. A total 55 subjects were enrolled, which 22 typically developing individuals 33 aged between 3 11 years, with disorder. detailed history, including physical examination, developmental evaluation, mental health history diagnostic observation schedule performed for each...
Social competition is a fundamental mechanism of evolution and plays central role in structuring individual interactions communities. Little known about the factors that affect individuals' competitive success, particularly humans. Key might include stress, major evolutionary pressure can establishment social hierarchies animals, trait anxiety, which largely determines susceptibility to stress constitutes an important determinant differences outcomes. Using economic-choice experiment assess...
Epigenetic mechanisms, such as histone modifications, regulate responsiveness to drugs of abuse, cocaine, but relatively little is known about the regulation addictive-like behaviors by DNA methylation. To investigate influence methylation on locomotor-activating effects cocaine and drug-seeking behavior, rats receiving methyl supplementation via chronic l-methionine (MET) underwent either a sensitization regimen intermittent injections or intravenous self-administration followed cue-induced...
Decision-making processes can be modulated by stress, and the time elapsed from stress induction seems to a crucial factor in determining direction of effects. Although current approaches consider first post-stress hour uniform period, dynamic pattern activation physiological systems (i.e., sympathetic nervous system hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) suggests that its neurobehavioural impact might heterogeneous. Here, we evaluate economic risk preferences on gain domain aversion) at three...
The glucocorticoid (GC) hypothesis posits that effects of stress and dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity accumulate over the lifespan contribute to impairment neural function cognition in advanced aging. validity GC is bolstered by a wealth studies investigate aging hippocampus decline associated mnemonic functions. prefrontal cortex (PFC) mediates working memory which also decreases with age. While PFC susceptible GCs, few have formally assessed application memory....
Several animal and clinical studies have highlighted the ineffectiveness of fear extinction sessions delivered shortly after trauma exposure. This phenomenon, termed immediate deficit, refers to situations in which programs applied conditioning may result reduction behaviors (in rodents, frequently measured as freezing responses conditioned cue) during training, but failure consolidate this long term. The molecular mechanisms driving resistance remain unclear. Here we present evidence for...
Defective brain glucose utilization is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) while Type II diabetes and elevated blood escalate the risk for AD in later life. Isolating contributions normal aging from coincident metabolic or diseases could lead to refined approaches manage specific health risks optimize treatments targeted susceptible older individuals. We evaluated metabolic, neuroendocrine, neurobiological differences between young adult (6 months) aged (24 male rats. Compared adults, was...
Abstract Increasing evidence shows that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s (AD). It is unknown whether systemic vascular dysfunction occurs prior to the development AD, if this in a sex-dependent manner, endothelial cells play role deposition amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides. We hypothesized onset pathology, thus escalating its progression. Furthermore, from female mice will present exacerbated formation Aβ peptides due...
Emerging evidence is implicating mitochondrial function and metabolism in the nucleus accumbens motivated performance. However, brain vulnerable to excessive oxidative insults resulting from neurometabolic processes, whether antioxidant levels contribute performance not known. Here, we identify a critical role for glutathione (GSH), most important endogenous brain, motivation. Using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at ultra-high field both male humans rodent populations, establish that...
Depression is a prevalent, debilitating mental illness which affects over 300 million people worldwide and often comorbid with chronic illnesses or anxiety disorders (Ménard et al., 2016; World Health Organization (WHO), 2017). Characterized by wide range of symptoms involving disruption mood cognition, depression leading cause disability contributor to economic burden Even as incidence steadily escalates (Akil 2018), research efforts understand its increasingly complex pathology produce...
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major psychiatric complication of childbirth, affecting up to 20% mothers, yet remains understudied. Mitochondria, dynamic organelles crucial for cell homeostasis and energy production, share links with many the proposed mechanisms underlying PPD pathology. Brain mitochondrial function affected by stress, risk factor development PPD, linked anxiety-like social behaviors. Considering importance mitochondria in regulating brain behavior, we hypothesized that...