AJ Robison, Michigan State University
November 11 @ 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Circuit-Specific Transcriptional Mechanisms Underlying Behavioral Responses to Cocaine and Stress
AJ Robison, Professor of Physiology, Director of the Neuroscience Program at Michigan State University
Abstract
Our group is interested in the mechanisms by which environmental factors like exposure to drugs of abuse or stress alter the expression of genes in discreet brain circuits to drive changes in physiology and behavior underlying diseases like mood disorders and drug addiction. We utilize transgenic mouse models in combination with circuit-specific intersecting viral vectors, mouse behavior, ex vivo slice electrophysiology, and third-generation sequencing to observe and manipulate gene expression and assess the cellular and behavioral effects. I will present new and published data showing that hippocampal neurons projecting to nucleus accumbens have intrinsic sex differences in excitability driven by adult testosterone and that exposure to cocaine drives transcriptional changes in this circuit that promote association of the drug with environmental cues and subsequent drug seeking.
Join us on Monday, November 11 at 1:30 PM in Stephens Room (3503 Thomas Hall) and ZOOM for the Genetics and Genomics Seminar Series. REGISTER to attend Zoom: https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUufu2rrDwuGtMzQ2ivMoBl4_LJ-eSGAZ4q
No registration is required to attend In-Person
If you would like to meet with AJ Robison, please contact host Natalia Duque-Wilckens (nduquew@ncsu.edu).
