Associate Investigator

Contact Information:
Tel: (510) 985-3892
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

I am interested in the cellular physiology of brain regions that drive motivated and goal-directed behaviors, including the ventral tegmental area, dorsal striatum, and nucleus accumbens. I combine brain slice electrophysiology with pharmacology and behavior to investigate how basic neuronal properties may regulate the behavioral contribution of each brain region. A major research focus examines action potential firing and neuromodulator receptor signaling, and how these may be altered after repeated, passive exposure to or voluntary self-administration of an addictive drug (such as cocaine or ethanol) and several weeks or months of abstinence. Information from brain slice experiments is used to guide behavioral manipulations to reduce drug-seeking. In this way, I hope to identify the critical, persisting neuro-adaptations that facilitate aberrant drug-seeking during abstinence, and to rationally design novel therapeutic interventions to counteract these changes and reduce craving and relapse in humans.