Mechanisms and regulation of synaptic transmission in the central nervous system; the impact of stress and stress hormones on synaptic transmission and plasticity in monoaminergic nuclei; role of endogenous cannabinoids “endocannabinoids” in the regulation of neuronal excitability.

Fatty Acid Binding Protein (FABP) Inhibitors and Their Neurophysiological Effects on Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) Dopamine Neurons (funded by SUNY-REACH). The goal of this research into a brain area critically involved in the regulation of stress-related behaviors, such as addiction, is to develop pharmaceutical drugs that selectively target FABPs, intracellular transporters of eCB, and to test their in vitro neurophysiological effects on VTA DA neurons (in collaboration with Dr. Dale Deutsch, Stony Brook University).

Addiction Propensity After Prenatal Ethanol Exposure (funded by NIAAA). This study is taking a multidisciplinary approach to investigating the effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on brain mechanisms that lead to increased risk of addiction later in life. The animal model utilized is anticipated to provide important insights into the risk factors of human addiction as well as better therapeutic strategies for behavioral problems associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (in collaboration with Principal Investigator Roh-Yu Shen, PhD and Co-Investigator Cynthia Dlugos, PhD, UB’s Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences).

Stress and Endocannabinoids Signaling in Serotonin Neurons (funded by NIMH). Investigating the role of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in regulation of stress responses and anxiety-related behaviors which play a role in addicted behaviors (in collaboration with Troy Wood, PhD, UB’s Department of Chemistry).

Dopamine Mechanisms and Receptors in Raphe 5-HT Neurons (funded by NIMH). Used electrophysiological, pharmacological, and immunohistochemical techniques to characterize the cellular mechanism by which D2-like dopamine receptor activation increases the excitability of dorsal Raphe nucleus serotonergic (5-HT) neurons.

Muscarinic Receptors in the Cerebral Cortex and Schizophrenia (funded by NARSAD). Investigated the neurophysiological effects of acetylcholine (an endogenous neurotransmitter) in the cerebral cortex.