Research Interests
My research interests include studying the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcoholism and addiction. My major area of interest is the neurobiology of ethanol’s stimulus properties. All drugs of abuse share the common attribute that they produce subjective stimulus effects in humans (e.g., the feeling of “drunkenness” that accompanies alcohol drinking). These subjective effects contribute to drug taking behavior. We are presently using behavioral pharmacology and immunohistochemistry techniques to examine the involvement of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in ethanol’s stimulus properties (K01 Award). Another area of interest is the neurobiology of ethanol reinforcement using animal models of ethanol self-administration. Using a multidisciplinary approach we are investigating the involvement of mGluRs in ethanol reinforcement and in the motivation to self-administer ethanol. Together, studying mechanisms involved in ethanol’s stimulus properties and ethanol reinforcement has numerous implications for the development of therapeutic interventions in alcoholism and for identifying factors that influence pathological behavioral processes in addiction, such as drug taking and relapse.
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Center Line Articles
Recent Publications
Click here for a full list of publications from PubMed
Besheer J, Stevenson RA, Hodge CW. mGlu5 receptors are involved in the discriminative stimulus effects of self-administered ethanol in rats. Eur J Pharmacol. 2006 Dec 3;551(1-3):71-5. Epub 2006 Sep 8.
Parnell SE, Dehart DB, Wills TA, Chen SY, Hodge CW, Besheer J, Waage-Baudet HG, Charness ME, Sulik KK. Maternal oral intake mouse model for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: ocular defects as a measure of effect. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2006 Oct;30(10):1791-8.
Besheer J, Lepoutre V, Mole B, Hodge CW. GABAA receptor regulation of voluntary ethanol drinking requires PKCepsilon. Synapse. 2006 Nov;60(6):411-9.
Hodge CW, Grant KA, Becker HC, Besheer J, Crissman AM, Platt DM, Shannon EE, Shelton KL. Understanding how the brain perceives alcohol: neurobiological basis of ethanol discrimination. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2006 Feb;30(2):203-13.
Hodge CW, Miles MF, Sharko AC, Stevenson RA, Hillmann JR, Lepoutre V, Besheer J, Schroeder JP. The mGluR5 antagonist MPEP selectively inhibits the onset and maintenance of ethanol self-administration in C57BL/6J mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2006 Jan;183(4):429-38.
Besheer J, Hodge CW. Pharmacological and anatomical evidence for an interaction between mGluR5- and GABA(A) alpha1-containing receptors in the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005 Apr;30(4):747-57.
Hodge CW, Kelley SP, Bratt AM, Iller K, Schroeder JP, Besheer J. 5-HT(3A) receptor subunit is required for 5-HT3 antagonist-induced reductions in alcohol drinking. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 Oct;29(10):1807-13.
Besheer J, Lepoutre V, Hodge CW. GABA(B) receptor agonists reduce operant ethanol self-administration and enhance ethanol sedation in C57BL/6J mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2004 Jul;174(3):358-66.
Besheer J, Cox AA, Hodge CW. Coregulation of ethanol discrimination by the nucleus accumbens and amygdala. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003 Mar;27(3):450-6.
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Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill