A5084569687- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Photoreceptor and optogenetics research
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Nerve injury and regeneration
- Neurological disorders and treatments
- Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
- Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research
- Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Treatment of Major Depression
- Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Diet and metabolism studies
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
University of Maryland, Baltimore
2016-2025
Institute of Neurobiology
2015-2023
Mary Kay (United States)
2022
University of Maryland, College Park
2018-2021
University of Baltimore
2012-2019
University of Mary
2018
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
2018
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2009-2013
Oregon Health & Science University
2013
Allen Institute for Brain Science
2011-2012
BDNF, Dopamine, and Cocaine Reward The nucleus accumbens plays a crucial role in mediating the rewarding effects of drugs abuse. Different subpopulations projection neurons exhibit balanced but antagonistic influences on their downstream outputs behaviors. However, roles regulating reward behaviors remains unclear. Lobo et al. (p. 385 ) evaluated two subtypes neurons, those expressing dopamine D1 versus D2 receptors, cocaine reward. Deleting TrkB, receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic...
Brain stimulation and imaging studies in humans have highlighted a key role for the prefrontal cortex clinical depression; however, it remains unknown whether excitation or inhibition of cortical neuronal activity is associated with antidepressant responses. Here, we examined cellular indicators functional activity, including immediate early genes (IEGs) zif268 ( egr1 ), c-fos , arc clinically depressed obtained postmortem. We also these ventral portion medial (mPFC) mice after chronic...
EDITORIAL article Front. Behav. Neurosci., 20 January 2015Sec. Learning and Memory https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00001
The striatum plays a key role in mediating the acute and chronic effects of addictive drugs, with drugs abuse causing long-lasting molecular cellular alterations both dorsal nucleus accumbens (ventral striatum). Despite wealth research on biological actions abused striatum, until recently, distinct roles striatum's two major subtypes medium spiny neurons (MSNs) drug addiction remained elusive. Recent advances cell-type-specific technologies, including fluorescent reporter mice, transgenic,...
The transcription factor, ΔFosB, is robustly and persistently induced in striatum by several chronic stimuli, such as drugs of abuse, antipsychotic drugs, natural rewards, stress. However, very few studies have examined the degree ΔFosB induction two striatal medium spiny neuron (MSN) subtypes. We make use fluorescent reporter BAC transgenic mice to evaluate dopamine receptor 1 (D1) enriched 2 (D2) MSNs ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell core, dorsal (dStr) after exposure abuse...
Regulating Opioid Responses Different drugs of abuse are thought to highjack similar reward systems in the brain using common mechanisms. However, Koo et al. (p. 124 ) now observe that some neural mechanisms regulate opiate can be both different and even opposite those by stimulant drugs. While knockdown brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) ventral tegmental area mice antagonized response cocaine, same manipulation strengthened potential opiates increase dopamine neuron excitability....
Based on earlier gene expression and chromatin array data, we identified the protein, dishevelled (DVL)-2, as being regulated in nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, mouse social defeat model of depression. Here, validate these findings by showing that DVL2 mRNA protein levels are downregulated NAc mice susceptible to stress, effects not seen resilient mice. Other DVL isoforms, DVL1 DVL3, show similar patterns regulation. Downregulation was also demonstrated depressed humans...
An imbalance in molecular signaling cascades and transcriptional regulation nucleus accumbens (NAc) medium spiny neuron (MSN) subtypes, those enriched dopamine D1 versus D2 receptors, is implicated the behavioral responses to psychostimulants. To provide further insight into mechanisms occurring MSN subtypes by cocaine, we examined transcription factor early growth response 3 (Egr3). We evaluated Egr3 because it a target of critical cocaine-mediated pathways Egr3-binding sites are found on...