-Current work in the lab focuses on investigating the effects of sex and estrous cycle fluctuations on oxycodone craving and relapse vulnerability (see images above depicting estrous cycle stages in oxycodone-exposed animals, taken by graduate student Bhumi Patel).
-Current work in the lab also focuses on charecterizing estrous cycle-dependent changes in cocaine seeking behavior and the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating these behavioral effects.
Our lab and others have shown that females in the estrus stage of the estrous cycle (Estrus Females) show enhanced cue-induced cocaine seeking behavior compared to both Males and females in all other stages of the cycle (Non-Estrus Females). We found that this effect intensifies over time, with Estrus Females showing enhanced seeking behavior on withdrawal day 48 compared to withdrawal day 15. These findings identify time-dependent changes in cocaine seeking behavior across the estrous cycle. See our findings here: https://www.eneuro.org/content/8/4/ENEURO.0054-21.202
We have also shown that inhibiting mGlu5-dependent transmission in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) selectively reduces the enhanced cocaine seeking behavior normally observed in Estrus Females while having no effect on cocaine seeking behavior in Males and Non-Estrus Females. These findings identify one potential mechanism contributing to changes in cocaine seeking behavior across the estrous cycle. See our findings here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772392522000505
