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Allen S. Levine, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychiatry E-mail: allenl@umn.edu

Research Interests:

Our laboratory conducts research related to the neural regulation of feeding. We primarily are involved in the role that opioids and other orexigenic peptides play in reward-related food intake. We use a variety of techniques including selective site microinjection of peptides, immunohistochemistry, molecular techniques, and animal behavior.

Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

Olszewski PK, Bomberg EM, Grace MK, Levine AS. Alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone and ghrelin: central interaction in feeding control. Peptides. 2007 Oct;28(10):2084-9.

Olszewski PK, Levine AS. Central opioids and consumption of sweet tastants: when reward outweighs homeostasis. Physiol Behav. 2007 Aug 15;91(5):506-12.

Naleid AM, Grace MK, Chimukangara M, Billington CJ, Levine AS. Paraventricular opioids alter intake of high-fat but not high-sucrose diet depending on diet preference in a binge model of feeding. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jul;293(1):R99-105.

Jeffery RW, Rydell S, Dunn CL, Harnack LJ, Levine AS, Pentel PR, Baxter JE, Walsh EM. Effects of portion size on chronic energy intake. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2007 Jun 27;4:27.

Bomberg EM, Grace MK, Wirth MM, Levine AS, Olszewski PK. Central ghrelin induces feeding driven by energy needs not by reward. Neuroreport. 2007 Apr 16;18(6):591-5.

Olszewski PK, Bomberg EM, Martell A, Grace MK, Levine AS. Intraventricular ghrelin activates oxytocin neurons: implications in feeding behavior. Neuroreport. 2007 Mar 26;18(5):499-503.

Teske JA, Levine AS, Kuskowski M, Levine JA, Kotz CM. Elevated hypothalamic orexin signaling, sensitivity to orexin A, and spontaneous physical activity in obesity-resistant rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2006 Oct;291(4):R889-99.

Li D, Olszewski PK, Shi Q, Grace MK, Billington CJ, Kotz CM, Levine AS. Effect of opioid receptor ligands injected into the rostral lateral hypothalamus on c-fos and feeding behavior. Brain Res. 2006 Jun 22;1096(1):120-4.

Jewett DC, Lefever TW, Flashinski DP, Koffarnus MN, Cameron CR, Hehli DJ, Grace MK, Levine AS. Intraparaventricular neuropeptide Y and ghrelin induce learned behaviors that report food deprivation in rats. Neuroreport. 2006 May 15;17(7):733-7.

Bomberg EM, Grace MK, Levine AS, Olszewski PK. Functional interaction between nociceptin/orphanin FQ and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in the regulation of feeding. Peptides. 2006 Jul;27(7):1827-34.

Levine AS. The animal model in food intake regulation: examples from the opioid literature. Physiol Behav. 2006 Aug 30;89(1):92-6.

Former Graduate Students:

Amy MacDonald (Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

James Pomonis (Ph.D. 1998, Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).

Michael Glass (Ph.D.) Postdoctoral Fellow At Cornell University School of Medicine

Eunmee Kim (Ph.D.) Research Professor, University of Ulster

Catherine Kotz (Ph.D.) Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota