PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS

Yavin Shaham, Ph.D., Senior Investigator

Branch Chief, Behavioral Neuroscience Branch
Section Chief, Neurobiology of Relapse Section

Ph.D. - 1992, Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland

M.A. - 1988, Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

B.S. - 1986, Biology & Psychology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

RESEARCH INTERESTS

We use rat models to study the cellular and neuroanatomical mechanisms that underlie relapse to drug and palatable food seeking induced by stressors and drug-associated or food-associated cues (Yavin Shaham group). We also study neurophysiological mechanisms of addictive drugs and motivated behavior (Eugene Kiyatkin group). Our current research projects include:

Selected Publications:

1. Lu L, Hope BT, Dempsey J, Liu S, Bossert JM, Shaham Y (2005) Central amygdala ERK signaling pathway is critical to incubation of cocaine craving. Nature Neuroscience 8:212-219

2. Ghitza UE, Nair SG, Golden SA, Gray SM, Uejima JL, Bossert JM, Shaham Y (2007) Peptide YY3-36 decreases reinstatement of high-fat food seeking during dieting in a rat relapse model. The Journal of Neuroscience 27:11522-11532

3. Conrad KL, Tseng K, Uejima J, Reimers J, Heng L, Shaham Y, Marinelli M, Wolf ME (2008) Formation of accumbens GluR2-lacking AMPA receptors mediates incubation of cocaine craving. Nature 454:118-121

4. Lu L, Wang X, Wu P, Zhao M, Morales M, Harvey BK, Hoffer BJ, Shaham Y (2009) Role of ventral tegmental area GDNF in incubation of cocaine craving. Biological Psychiatry 66:137-145

5. Nair SG, Navarre BM, Cifani C, Pickens CL, Bossert JM, Shaham Y (2011) Role of dorsal medial prefrontal cortex dopamine D1-family receptors in relapse to high-fat food seeking induced by the anxiogenic drug yohimbine. Neuropsychopharmacology 36:497-510

6. Bossert JM, Stern AL, Theberge F, Koya E, Hope BT, Shaham Y (2011) Ventral medial prefrontal cortex neuronal ensembles mediate context-induced relapse to heroin. Nature Neuroscience 14:420-422

7. Pickens CL, Airavaara M, Theberge F, Fanous S, Hope BT, Shaham Y (2011) Neurobiology of incubation of drug craving. Trends in Neuroscience 34:411-420

8. Bossert JM, Stern AL, Theberge FR, Marchant MJ, Wang HL, Morales M, Shaham Y (2012) Role of projections from ventral medial prefrontal cortex to nucleus accumbens shell in context-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. The Journal of Neuroscience32:4982-4991

9. Lenoir M, Kiyatkin EA (2011) Critical role of peripheral actions of nicotine in mediating its central effects. Neuropsychopharmacology 36:2125-2138

10. Wakabayashi KT, Kiyatkin EA (2012) Rapid changes in extracellular glutamate induced by natural arousing stimuli and intravenous cocaine in the nucleus accumbens shell and core.Journal of Neurophysiology (in press)