| Education:
B.A.,
psychology, University
of Texas
at Austin
M.A.,
biopsychology, University
of Michigan
at Ann
Arbor
Ph.D.,
neuroscience, University
of Texas
at Austin
Summary
Statement:
The
nucleus accumbens is a limbic-motor
integrator, assimilating memory and
drive input and coordinating responsive
behavioral output. Anatomical
and pharmacological evidence indicates
that the core and shell subregions
of the nucleus accumbens perform overlapping
but distinct roles in motivated behavior.
My experiments examine nucleus
accumbens core and shell function
during ethanol drinking behavior in
rats, with particular focus on how
dopamine input modulates accumbal
activity on the millisecond timescale.
I use two approaches:
electrophysiological firing patterns
of neurons in the nucleus accumbens
core and shell are evaluated using
multi-electrode arrays, and phasic
(subsecond) dopamine activity is evaluated
using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry.
I am also interested in exploring
the pharmacological manipulation of
neuronal transmission in the nucleus
accumbens, focusing on drugs that
have clinical therapeutic value in
treating alcoholism.
Representative
Publications:
1.
D.L. Robinson, T. Voltz, J.O. Schenk
and R.M. Wightman (in press).
Acute ethanol decreases dopamine transporter
velocity in rat striatum: in
vivo and in vitro electrochemical
measurements. Submitted to
Alcoholism:
Clinical and Experimental Research.
2.
D.L. Robinson and R.M. Wightman (2004).
Nomifensine amplifies subsecond
dopamine signals in the ventral striatum
of freely moving rats. Journal
of Neurochemistry , 90: 894-903.
3.
D.L. Robinson, B.J. Trafton, M.L.
Heien and R.M. Wightman (2003).
Detecting sub-second dopamine release
with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry
in freely-moving rats. Clinical
Chemistry, 49: 1763-1773.
4.
D.L. Robinson, M.L. Heien and R.M.
Wightman (2002). Frequency
of dopamine concentration transients
increases in dorsal and ventral striatum
of male rats during introduction of
conspecifics. Journal
of Neuroscience , 22: 10477-10486.
5.
R.M. Wightman and D.L. Robinson (2002).
Transient changes in brain
dopamine and their association with
“reward.” Journal
of Neurochemistry, 82: 721-735.
6.
D.L. Robinson, L.J. Brunner and R.A.
Gonzales (2002). Ethanol pharmacokinetics
in the rat brain: effects of
gender and estrous cycle. Alcoholism:
Clinical and Experimental Research
,
26: 165-172 .
|
