Research Focus:
Our lab investigates the neurochemical underpinnings of anxiety-related and seizure disorders. A major focus is the role of neuropeptides and the amygdala in anxiety-related behaviors and the actions of anxiety-reducing modalities such as the Valium-like benzodiazepines, alcohol and exercise. Of particular interest is the role of the opioid morphine-like peptide enkephalin & neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the anxiety-reducing aspects of these drugs. The project utilizes a multidisciplinary approach highlighted by virus-mediated gene transfer technology in combination with behavioral analyses, neurochemical assays, anatomical analyses, and molecular assessments of expression changes. Additional projects examine the behavioral & neurochemical changes following chronic physical activity and the neurobehavioral effects of cancer progression in a rodent model of breast cancer. Many of our studies examine sex differences in responses to anticonvulsants and anxiolytics in various animal models.
Recent Publications
Burghardt PR, Pasumarthi RK, Wilson MA, Fadel J (2006). Alterations in fear conditioning and amygdalar activation following chronic wheel running in rats. Pharm Biochem Behav 84: 306-312.
Burghardt PR, Wilson MA (2006). Microinjection of naltrexone into the central, but not the basolateral, amygdala blocks the anxiolytic effects of diazepam in the plus maze. Neuropsychopharm 31: 1227-1240.
Primeaux SD, Wilson SP, Bray GA, York DA, Wilson MA (2006). Overexpression of neuropeptide Y in the central nucleus of the amygdala decreases ethanol self-administration in "anxious" rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 30: 791-801
Primeaux SD, Wilson SP, McDonald AJ, Mascagni F, Wilson MA (2006). The role of delta opioid receptors in the anxiolytic actions of benzodiazepines. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 85: 545-554.
Wilson MA, Burghardt PR, Ford KA,, Wilkinson MB, Primeaux SD (2004). Anxiolytic effects of diazepam and ethanol in two behavioral models: comparison of males and females. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 78: 445-458.
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