A5016007407- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling
- Nerve injury and regeneration
- Migraine and Headache Studies
- Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Research
- Cancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response
- Ion channel regulation and function
- RNA modifications and cancer
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
- Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Adenosine and Purinergic Signaling
- Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
Brigham and Women's Hospital
2016-2025
Harvard University
2016-2025
California University of Pennsylvania
2022
Yale University
2022
Michigan State University
2022
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
2022
University of South Carolina
2022
Montefiore Medical Center
2022
Seattle University
2022
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
2005-2018
Mice experiencing repeated aggression develop a long-lasting aversion to social contact, which can be normalized by chronic, but not acute, administration of antidepressant. Using viral-mediated, mesolimbic dopamine pathway-specific knockdown brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), we showed that BDNF is required for the development this experience-dependent aversion. Gene profiling in nucleus accumbens indicates local obliterates most effects on gene expression within circuit, with...
Cocaine-induced alterations in gene expression cause changes neuronal morphology and behavior that may underlie cocaine addiction. In mice, we identified an essential role for histone 3 lysine 9 (H3K9) dimethylation the dimethyltransferase G9a cocaine-induced structural behavioral plasticity. Repeated administration reduced global levels of H3K9 nucleus accumbens. This reduction methylation was mediated through repression this brain region, which regulated by transcription factor DeltaFosB....
Persistent symptoms of depression suggest the involvement stable molecular adaptations in brain, which may be reflected at level chromatin remodeling. We find that chronic social defeat stress mice causes a transient decrease, followed by persistent increase, levels acetylated histone H3 nucleus accumbens, an important limbic brain region. This increase acetylation is associated with decreased deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) accumbens. Similar effects were observed accumbens depressed humans studied...
Sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and trigeminal (TG) are specialized to detect transduce diverse environmental stimuli central nervous system. Single-cell RNA sequencing has provided insights into diversity of sensory ganglia cell types rodents, nonhuman primates, humans, but it remains difficult compare across studies species. We thus constructed harmonized atlases DRG TG that describe facilitate comparison 18 neuronal 11 non-neuronal six species 31 datasets. then performed...
Although it is a widely studied psychiatric syndrome, major depressive disorder remains poorly understood illness, especially with regard to the disconnect between treatment initiation and delayed onset of clinical improvement. We have recently validated chronic social defeat stress in mice as model which depression-like phenotype reversed by chronic, but not acute, antidepressant administration. Here, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-chip assays--ChIP followed genome wide...
Although chronic cocaine-induced changes in dendritic spines on nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons have been correlated with behavioral sensitization, the molecular pathways governing these structural changes, and their resulting effects, are poorly understood. The transcription factor, nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB), is rapidly activated by diverse stimuli regulates expression of many genes known to maintain cell structure. Therefore, we evaluated role NFkappaB regulating spine medium spiny...
The molecular mechanisms underlying the transition from recreational drug use to chronic addiction remain poorly understood. One molecule implicated in this process is ΔFosB, a transcription factor that accumulates striatum after repeated exposure and mediates sensitized behavioral responses psychostimulants other drugs of abuse. downstream transcriptional by which ΔFosB regulates drug-induced behaviors are incompletely We reported previously chromatin remodeling activates expression certain...
The transcription factor DeltaFosB accumulates and persists in brain response to chronic stimulation. This accumulation after exposure drugs of abuse has been demonstrated previously by Western blot most dramatically striatal regions, including dorsal striatum (caudate/putamen) nucleus accumbens. In the present study, we used immunohistochemistry define with greater anatomical precision induction throughout rodent drug treatment. We also extended previous research involving cocaine,...
Sirtuins (SIRTs), class III histone deacetylases, are well characterized for their control of cellular physiology in peripheral tissues, but influence brain under normal and pathological conditions remains poorly understood. Here, we establish an essential role SIRT1 SIRT2 regulating behavioral responses to cocaine morphine through actions the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key reward region. We show that chronic administration increases expression mouse NAc, while induces alone, with no...