Brian O'Neill

B.S. in Chemical Biology, Stevens Institute of Technology

Thesis Advisor:  Howard Gu

E-Mail:  oneill.131@osu.edu

Research:

Historically, our knowledge of the reward pathway’s role in addiction has been centered on dopaminergic transmission and the nucleus accumbens. However, cocaine has three main targets present in many brain regions: the dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine transporters. Our lab aims to study cocaine addiction using a broad spectrum of techniques in order to have a more complete understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in reinforcement. With the use of separate knock-in mouse lines whose transporters are insensitive to cocaine, yet functional, we can begin to understand the roles of these three related neurotransmitter systems in cocaine’s effect. My project involves restoration of the wild type transporters to discrete brain regions using a viral vector. Combined, these tools afford a regional study of the functional neuroanatomy underlying addiction.