Laboratory in Affective Neuroscience (J. Gewirtz)
My lab studies negative emotional states (fear, anxiety, depression) using rat and mouse behavioral models. A significant emphasis is on the biology of fearful memory, which we dissect using Pavlovian conditioning paradigms. We also focus on drug dependence, since negative affective states are a prominent feature of drug withdrawal and likely play a critical role in the persistence of drug addiction. Our projects use a number of behavioral measures of emotion, including “potentiated startle“, the increase in magnitude of the acoustic startle reflex seen when a person or animal is in state of fear.
Jonathan Gewirtz
Jonathan Gewirtz is a professor in the Department of Psychology. He uses rodent behavioral models to study the biology of emotion, with particular interest in negative affect (e.g., anxiety) and addiction. His current research seeks to identify biological mechanisms underlying “secondary” trauma and vulnerability to opioid addiction.
Swain, Y, Muelken, P, LeSage, MG, Gewirtz, JC & Harris, AC, 2018, ‘Locomotor activity does not predict individual differences in morphine self-administration in rats’ Pharmacol Biochem Behav, vol. 166, pp. 48-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2018.01.008
Pisansky, MT, Hanson, LR, Gottesman, II & Gewirtz, JC 2017, ‘Oxytocin enhances observational fear in mice’ Nat Commun, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 2102. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02279-5
Kennedy, BC, Tran, PV, Kohli, M, Maertens, JJ, Gewirtz, JC & Georgieff, MK 2018, ‘Beneficial effects of postnatal choline supplementation on long-Term neurocognitive deficit resulting from fetal-Neonatal iron deficiency’ Behav Brain Res, vol. 336, pp. 40-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2017.07.043
Kennedy, BC, Kohli, M, Maertens, JJ, Marell, PS & Gewirtz, JC 2016, ‘Conditioned object preference: an alternative approach to measuring reward learning in rats’ Learn Mem, vol. 23, no. 11, pp. 623-630. https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.042598.116
Kennedy, BC, Dimova, JG, Dakoji, S, Yuan, LL, Gewirtz, JC & Tran, PV 2016, ‘Deletion of novel protein TMEM35 alters stress-related functions and impairs long-term memory in mice’ Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, vol. 311, no. 1, pp. R166-78. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00066.2016
Engelmann, JM, Versace, F, Gewirtz, JC & Cinciripini, PM 2016, ‘Individual differences in brain responses to cigarette-related cues and pleasant stimuli in young smokers’ Drug Alcohol Depend, vol. 163, pp. 229-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.04.025
Tran, PV, Kennedy, BC, Pisansky, MT, Won, KJ, Gewirtz, JC, Simmons, RA & Georgieff, MK 2016, ‘Prenatal Choline Supplementation Diminishes Early-Life Iron Deficiency-Induced Reprogramming of Molecular Networks Associated with Behavioral Abnormalities in the Adult Rat Hippocampus’ J Nutr, vol. 146, no. 3, pp. 484-93. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.115.227561
Rao, R, Ennis, K, Mitchell, EP, Tran, PV & Gewirtz, JC 2016, ‘Recurrent Moderate Hypoglycemia Suppresses Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression in the Prefrontal Cortex and Impairs Sensorimotor Gating in the Posthypoglycemic Period in Young Rats’ Dev Neurosci, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 74-82.https://doi.org/10.1159/000442878
McBrayer, ZL, Dimova, J, Pisansky, MT, Sun, M, Beppu, H, Gewirtz, JC & O'Connor, MB 2015, ‘Forebrain-Specific Loss of BMPRII in Mice Reduces Anxiety and Increases Object Exploration’ PLoS One, vol.10, no. 10, p. e0139860. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139860
Sweis, BM, Bachour, SP, Brekke, JA, Gewirtz, JC, Sadeghi-Bazargani, H, Hevesi, M & Divani, AA 2016, ‘A modified beam-walking apparatus for assessment of anxiety in a rodent model of blast traumatic brain injury’ Behav Brain Res, vol. 296, pp. 149-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2015.09.015