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Undergraduate Institution and Major/Degree:
- Univ. of Wisconsin -
Madison, BS, Neurobiology and Psychology, 2004
Major Advisor(s):
Research Description:
Drugs of abuse produce profound changes in affective state that are fundamental to the process of addiction. While most theories focus either on the rewarding effects of drug use or the aversive consequences of cessation of use, abundant evidence indicates both these phenomena are critical to addiction. A comprehensive understanding of addiction must thus include both positive and negative affective consequences of drug use, as well as changes in neural circuitry that mediate these consequences. By bringing together two distinct rodent models of the behavioral effects of repeated drug exposure (locomotor sensitization and potentiation of the startle reflex during drug withdrawal), I hope to investigate potential interactions between positive and negative affect in addiction. In the same animals, I will also examine changes in neural circuitry associated with these behavioral effects. These physiological studies will focus on synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region implicated in both natural rewards and drug addiction.
Lab Rotations:
- Jonathan Gewirtz
- Mark Thomas
- David Redish
Courses Taken Beyond the Core Courses:
- Psychology 8060 - Neural substrates of mental processes
- Psychology 8960 - Graduate seminar in psychology: synaptic plasticity in addiction
- Psychology 5012: Learning & Cognition in Animals
- Statistics 5303: Designing Experiments
- Pharmacology 5462: Neuroscience Principles of Drug Abuse
Graduate Level Minor(s):
Conferences Attended:
- Society for Neuroscience annual meeting - 2004
- Society for Psychophysiological Research annual meeting - 2003,
2004
- Research Society on Alcoholism annual meeting - 2004
- Society for Neuroscience annual meeting: 2004-2006
- Forum of European Neuroscience: 2006
Conference Presentations:
- Rothwell, P. E. & Curtin, J. J. (2004). Alcohol effects on ERP correlates of cognitive control. Poster presented at the 44th annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Santa Fe, NM
- Rothwell, P. E. & Curtin, J. J. (2004). Alcohol expectancy &
pharmacology: Cognitive mechanisms underlying behavior regulation effects. Paper & poster presented at the 27th annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, Vancouver, Canada
- Curtin, J. J. & Rothwell, P. E. (2003). Cognitive control of
behavior: ERP correlates of prepotent response inhibition in the Stroop task. Poster presented at the 43rd annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Chicago, IL
Committee Members:
- Mark Thomas (advisor)
- Paul Mermelstein (chair)
- Jonathan Gewirtz
- William Engeland
Publications:
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Kourrich, S., Rothwell, P.E., Klug, J.R., & Thomas, M.J. (submitted). Experience-elicited synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens: bidirectional control by cocaine.
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Harris, A. C., Rothwell, P.E., & Gewirtz, J.C. (submitted). Effects of the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine on the expression and development of acute opiate dependence as assessed by withdrawal-potentiated startle and hyperalgesia.
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Rothwell, P.E. & Curtin, J.J. (in preparation). Alcohol challenge and expectancy effects on ERP correlates of cognitive control.
Awards and Honors:
- Graduate School Fellowship, University of
Minnesota, 2004-2005
- Smithberg Memorial Prize, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 2005
- Travel Award for the Forum of European Neuroscience, Society for Neuroscience, 2006
- NIDA Training Grant Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2005-2008
Professional Memberships:
- Society for Neuroscience
- Society for
Psychophysiological Research
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