The F31 fellowship will support Madigan’s research in Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome.
“Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (OWS) consists of many negative affective and physical symptoms that often incentivize individuals to relapse. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this stage of Opioid Use Disorder may inform future therapeutics and treatment options for OWS, preventing relapse and continued opioid misuse. Specifically, my research investigates the effects of opioid withdrawal on the GABAergic signaling between two implicated brain regions, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). I use both behavioral techniques and electrophysiology to identify changes within this pathway following withdrawal.”
Madigan is a pharmacology graduate student in Zoe McElligott’s lab.