Faculty & Research

C.J. Malanga, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology and Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies

Office | Neuroscience Research Bldg (NSRB) 6109-C

Email | malangacj@neurology.unc.edu

Website | Neurology

Research Interests

• Physiology and pharmacology of the basal ganglia
• Neurobiology of motivation and reward
• Effects of early exposure to drugs of abuse on brain and behavioral development
• Cellular electrophysiology
• Behavioral and developmental neuroscience
• Drug abuse neurobiology

Clinical Interests

• Movement disorders in children
• Consequences of prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse

Recent Publications

Still no time for complacency: Developmental effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure. Malanga CJ. Neurology. 2009 Jun 16;72(24):2062-3.

Augmentation of Cocaine-Sensitized Dopamine Release in the Nucleus Accumbens of Adult Mice Following Prenatal Cocaine Exposure.  Malanga CJ, Ren JQ, Guerriero RM, Kosofsky BE. Dev Neurosci. 2009;31(1-2):76-89

Prenatal exposure to cocaine increases the rewarding potency of cocaine and selective dopaminergic agonists in adult mice. Malanga CJ, Riday TT, Carlezon WA Jr, Kosofsky BE. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Jan 15;63(2):214-21.

Prenatal exposure to cocaine alters the development of conditioned place-preference to cocaine in adult mice.  Malanga CJ, Pejchal M, Kosofsky BE.  Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2007 Oct;87(4):462-71.

Neuropathological consequences of prenatal cocaine exposure in the mouse. Ren JQ, Malanga CJ, Tabit E, Kosofsky BE. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2004 Aug-Oct;22(5-6):309-20.

Does drug abuse beget drug abuse? Behavioral analysis of addiction liability in animal models of prenatal drug exposure. Malanga CJ, Kosofsky BE. Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 2003 Dec 30;147(1-2):47-57.

Cocaine and SKF-82958 potentiate brain stimulation reward in Swiss-Webster mice. Gilliss B, Malanga CJ, Pieper JO, Carlezon WA Jr. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002 Sep;163(2):238-48.