Neurobiology of Stress and Addiction
Vulnerability to stress-related disorders such as anxiety, depression, and addiction can vary with sex and age. Adolescence is a period of brain plasticity in which stressful experiences and alcohol use could disrupt neuroendocrine systems and cellular/circuit remodeling, with lasting impact on behaviors. Our research uses rodent models to investigate the mechanisms of differential glial and neuronal plasticity across the lifespan.
Fig. 1: A new cell in old age. A newly differentiated and myelinating oligodendrocyte (green) located in the Pirriform cortex of a middle-aged mouse. Image at 60X magnification was acquired using confocal microscopy and cell was labeled with green flourescent protein (GFP, green) and aspartoacylase (ASPA, pink) antibodies using immunohistochemistry.