Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and malnutrition are two growing public health issues in the United States and the world. 140, 557 individuals die from excessive alcohol use each year and one in nine people are hungry and undernourished. Moreover, studies have shown that individuals who are malnourished are more likely to engage in reward-seeking behaviors […]
C56: Sex Differences in Safety and Threat Learning: An Evaluation of BNST-projecting Neurons From the PVT
Recently, evidence of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) plays a pivotal role in fear responses. Still, more research is needed into how important PVT is in safety learning. In this study, we examined the role of PVT and its projection to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in safety learning through […]
C57: The Effect of Safety and Sex on Freezing and Central Amygdala-PVT Pathway in Rats
Several studies have reported that the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is a sensory relay node in the brain that interacts with fear circuitry. However, little is known about the PVT in relation to safety learning, particularly its interaction with the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in the context of safety expression. Here, […]
C58: DRN corticotropin-releasing hormone modulation of aELS-enhanced fear learning in adulthood
Patients diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) present with a spectrum of debilitating anxiety symptoms that result from exposure to one or more traumatic events, with women having increased vulnerability for diagnosis; however, the mechanisms of this increased vulnerability remain unknown. The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is a brain region that has been implicated in […]
C59: Selective Genetic Deletion of Oprm1 in FoxP2-Expressing Neurons Reduces Aversion-Resistant Reward Seeking
Mu-opioid receptors (MORs) in the amygdala and striatum are important in addictive and rewarding behaviors. For the current series of studies, we characterized the behavior of mice with genetic deletion of the MOR gene Oprm1 in FoxP2-expressing neurons (FoxP2-Cre/Oprm1fl/fl). FoxP2 is expressed in intercalated cells of the amygdala and a subset of striatal medium spiny […]
BIV-03: Effect of μ-Opioid Receptor Knockout on Fear Conditioning, Extinction, and Morphine-Analgesia
Our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying fear, trauma, and the development of related disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are incomplete. Thus, the search for players in the game continues. Among the brain regions identified as exhibiting maladaptive changes/activity in PTSD, the amygdala appears to serve an important role in the acquisition and expression […]
CSI-04: Effects of Acute Early Life Stress and CRH2 Receptor Antagonism on Anxiety in Adult Rats
After undergoing an early life stress (ELS) event, susceptibility to fear and anxiety-related disorders becomes more common. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder are often precipitated by ELS experience and can negatively impact one’s life and ability to function. An established reciprocal neural circuit between serotonergic neurons of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) […]
A01: Anxiety Sensitivity and Blackouts: Exploring the Impact of Drinking Motives and Gender Experiences in College-Aged Students
Anxiety sensitivity is the fear that anxiety symptoms are indicative of greater harm, and is a risk factor for heavy alcohol use and substance use disorders. In existing research, there are gaps on the exact alcohol-related consequences and how anxiety sensitivity may be related to those consequences. One important gap is the link between anxiety […]
A03: What Does It Take to Change? Negative Drinking Consequences and Willingness to Change Drinking Behavior in College Students
College student alcohol consumption remains a serious health problem despite frequent intervention and research. Excessive alcohol consumption among college students has been linked to various negative outcomes such as missing class, unsafe sex, accidental injury, assaults, and death (Hingson et al., 2009; White & Hingson, 2014). In a study of college students, more than half […]
A18: Enzymatic Conversion of Psilocybin and Related Tryptamines by Alkaline Phosphatase and Monoamine Oxidase A
The McMurray lab is a behavioral neuroscience lab that focuses on the study of tryptamines commonly found in “magic” mushrooms. The main tryptamine found in these mushrooms is psilocybin, and this has been extensively studied as a therapeutic because of its promising antidepressant effects. The leading theory for why psilocybin possesses this antidepressant efficacy is […]