Is nicotine a “gateway drug” that leads to abuse of other addictive drugs? The Robinson Lab tested whether nicotine exposure starting in adolescence promoted alcohol drinking in female rats, hypothesizing that the pharmacological effect of nicotine on the brain would result in greater motivation to drink alcohol. In contrast, they found that nicotine exposure per … Continued
Through innovative research, the Besheer Lab has identified a novel brain circuit that regulates alcohol drinking. This lab studied the role of the frontal cortex, including the insular cortex, in alcohol use by monitoring rats’ ingestion of alcohol. They found that blocking projections from the insular cortex to the nucleus accumbens, a key brain area … Continued
What are the effects of alcoholism on the immune system? Drs. Crews, Zou and Coleman researched the responses of the neuroimmune system to alcohol. They found that a pro-inflammatory protein complex – the HMGB1-IL 1b complex – is more common in people who suffer from alcohol-use disorder. By studying this complex in brain cultures, they … Continued
The center, established 20 years ago and led by Fulton Crews, PhD, will receive more than $8.7 million over five years to continue research on the effects of alcohol on the brain.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has awarded a 5-year K08 Career Development Award to Leon G. Coleman Jr, MD, PhD of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, to study the central and peripheral immune responses to ethanol. Alcohol abuse causes dysfunction of immune responses both in the brain and the periphery. Immune … Continued
Dr. Scott Swartzwelder, (shown on the right) professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, has received the 2017 Bowles Award from the UNC School of Medicine’s Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. The award honors distinguished researchers who have made significant contributions to understanding the causes, prevention and/or treatment of … Continued
Dr. Susan Smith, a world renowned expert in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) research has joined UNC as Deputy Director of the Nutrition Research Institute. Her work focuses on risk factors for development of FASD as well as strategies for treatment in both children and adults who suffer with FASD. Dr. Smith will join the … Continued
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has awarded a $1.9 million, 5-year grant to Joyce Besheer, PhD, of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, to study the underlying neuropathy of post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse. click to enlarge Joyce Besheer, PhD Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating and enduring disorder that … Continued
Karen Boschen, a postdoctoral fellow in the Parnell Lab, won the Wilson Presentation Award at the 2017 Annual Teratology Society meeting in Denver, CO for her talk entitled “Changes to Primary Cilia Number and Function in the Neural Tube Following Neurulation-Stage Ethanol Exposure in a Mouse Model of FASD.”
Tentative Schedule for Fall 2017: Monday, August 28th Amanda Elton, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Trainee, Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “COMT Val158Met polymorphism exerts sex-dependent effects on fMRI measures of brain function.” Lara Hwa, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Trainee, Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Intermittent alcohol drinking … Continued