About
36
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Introduction
The focus of my lab is on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of depression.
GOALS
1. To evaluate the structural, functional, cognitive and biochemical changes in the neural circuits underlying mood as it relates to depression: focus is on the basal ganglia, medial orbital frontal cortex, and hippocampus.
2. To evaluate the potential implication of disruption of different components of the neural circuits underlying mood.
I have success with working with both graduate and undergraduate students in this field. All of the students in my lab have not only published their work, but many have won regional and national awards.
Experimental techniques used: Behavioral Assays, Immunohistochemistry, HPLC, GC, ELISA, Mathematical Models.
Additional affiliations
August 2011 - present
Publications
Publications (36)
This text provides detailed information about the salient topics typically covered in a traditional introductory neuroscience course, offering a basic overview of brain anatomy and physiology, from molecules to the mind, in a concise, readable format, without a substantial amount of peripheral information. This allows the reader to focus on the pri...
Anatomy and Physiology: An Integrated Approach combines the study of anatomy and physiology into one well-organized and illustrated text. It teaches students about the purposes of organ systems, as well as their interconnections. It educates readers about interactions between systems and how disruption to a single system can impact overall function...
“The neurochemistry is so similar that it’s scary,” said Julian Pittman, a professor at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Troy University in Alabama, where he is working to develop new medications to treat depression, with the help of tiny zebrafish. We tend to think of them as simple organisms, “but there is a lot we don’t...
The field of neurotoxicology is confronted with two significant demands: the testing of an ever increasing list of chemicals, and resource limitations/ethical concerns associated with testing using traditional mammalian species. National and international government agencies have well-defined a need to reduce, refine or replace mammalian species in...
Animal models of disease are ultimately only as strong as the clinical phenotype(s) upon which they are based. Many obstacles impede our ability to design animal models of complex mental illnesses, such as depression. An animal model that attempts to re-create any disease strives to maximize construct, face, and predictive validities. Strategies to...
Introduction:
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are common and severely debilitating. Their chronic nature and reliance on both genetic and environmental factors makes studying NDDs and their treatment a challenging task. Areas covered: Herein, the authors discuss the neurobiological mechanisms of NDDs, and present recommendations on their trans...
Background / Purpose:
The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanisms-of-action underlying changes in anxiety/depression-related behaviors and the neuroanatomical components affected following exposure to Hypericum perforatum (St.John's wort) extract in zebrafish ( Danio rerio ).
Main conclusion:
Hypericum perforatum extracts mediate their...
Fluoxetine: Pharmacological Analysis of Depression-like Responses in Zebrafish
Anxiety/Depression-related Animal Models: Zebrafish and Diazepam
Anatomy and Physiology: An Integrated Approach combines the study of anatomy and physiology into one well-organized and illustrated text. It teaches students about the purposes of organ systems, as well as their interconnections. It educates readers about interactions between systems and how disruption to a single system can impact overall function...
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly becoming a popular animal model for neurobehavioral and psychopharmacological research. While startle testing is a well-established assay to investigate anxiety-like behaviors in different species, screening of the startle response and its habituation in zebrafish is a new direction of translational biomedical re...
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are emerging as a promising model organism for experimental studies relevant to biological psychiatry. The objective of this study was to develop a novel video-based movement tracking and analysis system to quantify behavioral changes following psychoactive drug exposure in zebrafish. We assessed the effects of withdrawal fr...
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly gaining popularity in translational neuroscience and behavioral research. Physiological similarity to mammals, ease of genetic manipulations, sensitivity to pharmacological and genetic factors, robust behavior, low cost, and potential for high-throughput screening contribute to the growing utility of zebrafish mo...
Natural genetic variation in reproduction and life history strategies is a manifestation of variation in underlying regulatory neuronal and endocrine systems. A test of the hypothesis that genetic variation in luteinizing hormone (LH) level could be related to a life history trait, seasonal reproduction, was conducted on artificial selection lines...
A key question in the evolution of life history and in evolutionary physiology asks how reproductive and other life-history traits evolve. Genetic variation in reproductive control systems may exist in many elements of the complex inputs that can affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) or reproductive axis. Such variation could include numb...
A physiologically-based toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic (PBTK/TD) model was developed, from the open literature, to predict the toxicokinetic disposition and toxicodynamic response (acetylcholinesterase inhibition) of a ternary organophosphorus (OP) insecticide mixture: chlorpyrifos (CP), methyl parathion (MP) and parathion (P). In vivo studies wer...
A physiologically-based toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic (PBTK/TD) model was developed, from the open literature, to predict the toxicokinetic disposition and toxicodynamic response (acetylcholinesterase inhibition) of a ternary organophosphorus (OP) insecticide mixture: chlorpyrifos (CP), methyl parathion (MP) and parathion (P). In vivo studies wer...
Epidemiological studies have linked insecticide exposure and Parkinson's disease. In addition, some insecticides produce damage or physiological disruption within the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway of non-humans. This study employed immunohistochemical analysis in striatum of the C57BL/6 mouse to clarify tissue changes suggested by previous pha...
Epidemiological studies have linked insecticide exposure and Parkinson's disease. In addition, some insecticides produce damage or physiological disruption within the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway of non-humans. This study employed immunohistochemical analysis in striatum of the C57BL/6 mouse to clarify tissue changes suggested by previous pha...
Parkinson₂s disease (PD) is a debilitating motor disorder that primarily afflicts older individuals (> 50yrs). Although its cause is unknown, many factors are thought to contribute to the disease. There is growing epidemiological evidence supporting a link between pesticide exposure and PD. The present immunohistochemical study was undertaken to ch...
Typescript (photocopy). Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-38).
