2 New papers from the McElligott Lab

April 9, 2019

Led by Brennon Luster and Liz Cogan, examining how repeated morphine withdrawal alters behavior and inhibitory synapses in male and female mice, published in Addiction Biology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/adb.12748 Viewpoint led by Karl Schmidt describing new developments in distinguishing dopamine and norepinephrine with various techniques published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00157

Scientists Discover How Neuroactive Steroids Dampen Inflammatory Signaling in Immune System and Brain led by Dr. A. Leslie Morrow, Ph.D.

March 1, 2019

Led by A. Leslie Morrow, PhD, research shows how new compounds could target specific brain cell receptors to treat a wide variety of conditions, such as alcoholism, Alzheimer’s, depression, and posttraumatic stress. For the first time, scientists discovered how neuroactive steroids naturally found in the brain and bloodstream inhibit the activity of a specific … Continued

CAS Parking Policy

January 28, 2019

The Chairman is allocated first. All remaining permits are assigned first to tenured and tenure-track faculty and then to other permanent staff based on duration of total state service. There is no distinction made between EPA research faculty and SPA staff. The Director will exercise his or her authority to make adjustments to this policy as … Continued

Spring 2019 Seminar Series

January 7, 2019

Monday, Jan 7th Lara Hwa, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Trainee, Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Long-term alcohol drinking alters stress engagement of BNST dynorphin circuitry” Karl Schmidt, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Trainee, Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Noradrenergic Neuroadaptations to … Continued

Dr. Clyde Hodge receives NIH grant supplement to develop research on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s-related dementias.

November 19, 2018

Dr. Clyde Hodge receives NIH grant supplement to develop research on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s-related dementias. Dr. Hodge has received a 1-yr grant through the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to supplement his currently funded R37 MERIT award from the NIAAA. The laboratory’s ongoing work … Continued

“How alcohol, time and trying to forget trauma can change what we remember”

September 27, 2018

“The part of the brain that is doing most of the heavy lifting to encode new memory is called the hippocampus,” said Scott Swartzwelder, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University. “It’s a structure that happens to be very, very sensitive to alcohol.”

2 Publications accepted in Dr. Zoe McElligott’s Lab

September 25, 2018

Neurotensin and Dynorphin Bi-Directionally Modulates CeA Inhibition of oval BNST Neurons in Male Mice (in press at Neuropharmacology, authors are Catherine P Normandeau, Maria Luisa Torruella Suarez, Philippe Sarret, Zoe McElligott*, Eric C Dumont*, *co-senior author ) Stress-induced alterations of norepinephrine release in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of mice (in press at ACS Chemical Neuroscience, authors are Karl T Schmidt, Viren H Makhijani, Kristen M Boyt, Dipanwita Pati, Melanie M Pina, Isabel M Bravo, Jason LLocke, Sara R Jones, Joyce Besheer, Zoe … Continued

Drs. Joyce Besheer and Scott Parnell receive a 2 year grant from NIAAA

September 25, 2018

Drs. Joyce Besheer and Scott Parnell received a two-year grant from NIAAA titled “Consequences of prenatal alcohol and cannabinoid co-exposure on alcohol self-administration in adolescence”. These studies will investigate the lasting impact of prenatal alcohol and synthetic cannabinoid exposure on alcohol drinking in the adolescent offspring.

Dr. Joyce Besheer receives a Diversity Supplement from NIAAA

September 25, 2018

Dr. Joyce Besheer received a Diversity Supplement from NIAAA to support the postdoctoral training of Dr. Laura Ornelas. Dr. Ornelas will be investigating the neural mechanisms that underlie the effects of trauma exposure on relapse to alcohol drinking in an animal model.

Viren Makhijani receives an NRSA from NIAAA

September 25, 2018

Viren Makhijani, a graduate student in the Dr. Joyce Besheer’s lab at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, received an NRSA from the NIAAA titled “The mineralocorticoid receptor as a potential bridge between traumatic stress and increased alcohol consumption.” His work will examine the consequences of traumatic stress exposure on alcohol drinking and whether mineralocorticoid … Continued

Author Archives: Brooke Mansfield