Stephanie Groman, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience

E-MAIL: [email protected]

Advising Statement

Research Interests:

The Groman Lab is focused on understanding the biological and neurodevelopmental mechanisms of decision making in normal and abnormal states. Our goal is to obtain different measurements across diverse levels of analysis in order to generate mechanistic links between genes and behavior so that our work in animals can be readily translated to humans. For example, our studies integrate sophisticated behavioral approaches with computational, viral, neuroimaging, proteomic, and genomic techniques to identify the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction. We are particularly interested in identifying biomarkers of addiction susceptibility – or biological phenotypes that predict the risk for developing an addiction – that can be used in human populations to develop more effective addiction prevention strategies.

Specific projects and areas of interest include:

  • Addiction susceptibility is mediated by genetic and environmental factors. One of our projects – funded by a NIDA K01 award – will isolate the signaling pathways that are associated with genetic addiction risk from those that are associated with environmental addiction risk.

  • Our previous work has found that decision-making is predictive as well as affected by drug use. In our NIDA U01 award, we are using this decision-making framework to isolate the neurobiological mechanisms of susceptibility from those that are disrupted by oxycodone use. The brain undergoes a profound reorganization during adolescence and abnormalities in these developmental processes may have enduring impact on brain function. Our ongoing work is examining how neurodevelopmental mechanisms during adolescence are related to addiction susceptibility and other abnormal behaviors in adulthood. 


Selected Publications:

  • Moin Afshar N, Cinotti F, Martin DA, Khamassi M, Calu DJ, Taylor JR, Groman SM. Reward-mediated, model-free reinforcement-learning mechanisms in Pavlovian and instrumental tasks are related. J Neurosci. 2022 Oct 10:JN-RM-1113-22.
  • Villiamma P, Casby J, Groman SM. Adolescent reinforcement-learning trajectories predict cocaine-taking behaviors in adult male and female rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2022 Sep;239(9):2885-2901.
  • Young JW, Barback CV, Stolz LA, Groman SM, Vera DR, Hoh C, Kotta KK, Minassian A, Powell SB, Brody AL. MicroPET evidence for a hypersensitive neuroinflammatory profile of gp120 mouse model of HIV. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2022 Apr;321:111445. 
  • Rossano S, Toyonaga T, Berg E, Lorence I, Fowles K, Nabulsi N, Ropchan J, Li S, Ye Y, Felchner Z, Kukis D, Huang Y, Benveniste H, Tarantal AF, Groman SM, Carson RE. Imaging the fetal nonhuman primate brain with SV2A positron emission tomography (PET). Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2022 Sep;49(11):3679-3691. 
  • Groman SM, Thompson SL, Lee D, Taylor JR. Reinforcement learning detuned in addiction: integrative and translational approaches. Trends Neurosci 2021 Dec 14:S0166-2236(21)00236-8.
  • Groman SM, Lee D, Taylor JR. Unlocking the reinforcement-learning circuits of the orbitofrontal cortex. Behav Neurosci. 2021;135(2):120-128.
  • Gianessi CA, Groman SM, Taylor JR. The effects of fatty acid amidehydrolase inhibition and monacyclglycerol lipase inhibition on habit formation in mice. Eur J Neurosci. 2022 Feb;55(4):922-938.
  • Moin Afshar N*, Keip AJ*, Taylor JR, Lee D, Groman SM. Adolescent-related changes in reinforcement learning and decision making in the rat. J Neurosci. 2020;40(30):5857-5870. * indicates equal author contribution. 
  • Groman SM, Hillmer AT, Liu H, Fowles K, Holden D, Morris ED, Lee D, Taylor JR. Dysregulation of decision-making related to mGluR5, but not D3 receptor, availability following cocaine self-administration in rats. Biol Psychiatry. 2020;88(10):777-787.
  • Groman SM. Astrocytic activation to restore goal-directed behaviors. Biol Psychiatry. 2020;88(10):744-745.
  • Bond CW, Trinko R, Foscue E, Furman K, Groman SM, Taylor JR, DiLeone RJ. Medial nucleus accumbens projections to the ventral tegmental area control food consumption. J Neurosci. 2020 Jun 10;40(24):4727-4738.
  • Groman SM, Hillmer AT, Liu H, Fowles K, Holden D, Morris ED, Lee D, Taylor JR. Midbrain D3 receptor availability predicts escalation in cocaine self-administration. Biol Psychiatry. 2020;88(10):767-776.
  • Reed EJ, Uddenberg S, Suthaharan P, Mathys CD, Taylor JR, Groman SM, Corlett PR. Expecting the unexpected: the paranoid style of belief updating across species. Elife. 2020 May 26;9:e56345.
  • Groman SM. The neurobiology of impulsive decision making and reinforcement learning in non-human animals. Recent advances in research on impulsivity and impulsive behaviors. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2020;47:23-52.
  • Groman SM, Keistler C, Keip AJ, Hammarlund E, DiLeone RJ, Pittenger C, Lee D, Taylor JR.Orbitofrontal circuits make distinct contributions to flexible decision-making. Neuron. 2019;103(4):734-746.
  • Gianessi CA, Groman SM, Thompson SL, Jiang M, van der Stelt M, Taylor JR. Endocannabinoid contributions to alcohol habits and motivation: relevance to treatment. Addict Biol. 2020 May;25(3):e12768.
  • Groman SM, Massi B, Mathias SR, Lee D, Taylor JR.Model- free and model-based influences in addiction. Biol Psychiatry. 2019;85(11):936-945.
  • Groman SM, Massi B, Mathias SR, Curry DW, Lee D, Taylor JR. Neurochemical and behavioral dissections of decision-making in a rodent multi-stage task. J Neurosci. 2019;39(2):295-306.
  • Gianessi CA, Groman SM, Taylor JR. Bidirectional modulation of food habit expression by the endocannabinoid system. Eur J Neurosci. 2019 Jun;49(12):1610-1622.
  • Groman SM, Rich KM, Smith NJ, Lee D, Taylor JR.Chronic exposure to methamphetamine disrupts reinforcement-based decision-making in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018 Mar;43(4):770-780.
  • Rapanelli M, Frick LR, Xu M, Groman SM, Jindachomthong K, Tamamaki N, Tanahira C, Taylor JR, Pittenger C. Targeted interneuron depletion in the dorsal striatum produces autism-like behavioral abnormalities in male but not female mice. Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Aug 1;82(3):194-203.
  • Kaneko G, Sanganahalli BG, Groman SM, Wang H, Coman D, Rao J, Herman P, Jiang L, Rich K, de Graaf RA, Taylor JR, Hyder F. Hypofrontality and posterior hyperactivity observed in early schizophrenia: Multi-modal characterizations by imaging and behavior. Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Mar 15;81(6):503-513.
  • Groman SM, Smith NJ, Petrullli JR, Massi B, Chen L, Ropchan J, Huang Y, Lee D, Morris ED, Taylor JR. Dopamine D3 receptor availability is associated with inflexible decision making. J Neurosci. 2016;36(25):6732-41
  • Elsworth JD, Jentsch JD, Groman SM, Roth RH, Redmond ED Jr, Leranth C. Low circulating levels of bisphenol-A induce cognitive deficits and loss of asymmetric spine synapses in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of adult male monkeys. J Comp Neurol. 2015 Jun 1;523(8):1248-57.
  • Groman SM, James AS, Seu E, Tran S, Clark TA, Harpster SN, Crawford M, Burtner JL, Feiler K, Roth RH, Elsworth JD, London ED, Jentsch JD. In the blink of an eye: Relating positive-feedback sensitivity to striatal dopamine D2 receptors through blink rate. J Neurosci. 2014 Oct 22;34(43):14443-54.
  • Elsworth JD, Groman SM, Jentsch JD, Leranth C, Redmond DE Jr, Kim JD, Diano S, Roth RH. Primate phencyclidine (PCP) model of schizophrenia: sex-specific effect on cognition, spine synapse number and dopamine turnover in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014 Oct 31;18(6):pyu048.
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