Department of Pharmacology Faculty Candidate
Shana M. Augustin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
National Institutes of Health
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience
Abstract:
Striatal neuromodulators play a critical role in motor control, decision-making and addiction. Neuromodulators exert their functions through G-protein-coupled receptors that activate second messenger intracellular cascades to affect neuronal signaling, both short- and long-term synaptic modifications. Thus, understanding the cellular, subcellular, and synaptic mechanisms underlying neuromodulation is critical to advancing our knowledge of striatal function. The focus of my recent research has been the action of dopamine on different cellular populations of striatal dopamine D2 receptors in the induction of endocannabinoid-dependent long-term depression, the downstream signaling of the cAMP-PKA pathway, as well as their behavioral implications
Liz Murphy
(312) 503-4892
Email