Research Highlights

HDRF-Funded Publications

HDRF’s funding to date (in just 36 months), HDRF has awarded 47 research grants at 25 research institutions. These grants have yielded a wide range of valuable research results which have been published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals. Below are the highlights of important new findings which are the result of grants funded by HDRF. These articles acknowledge HDRF support.

  1. Arakawa, H., Blandino, Jr., P. & Deak, T. (2009).  Central infusion of Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist blocked the reduction in social investigation produced by prior stressor exposure.  Physiology & Behavior, 98, 139-146.
  2. Barnum, C. J., Blandino Jr., P., & Deak, T. (2007). Adaptation of corticosterone and hyperthermic responses to stress following repeated stressor exposure. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 19(8): 632-642.
  3. Barnum, C. J., Blandino Jr., P., & Deak, T. (2008). Social status modulates basal IL-1 concentrations in the hypothalamus of pair-housed rats and influences certain features of stress reactivity. Brain, Behavior & Immunity, 22, 517-527.
  4. Blandino Jr., P, Barnum, CJ, Solomon, LG, Larish, Y, Lankow, BS & Deak, T. (2009). Gene expression changes in the hypothalamus provide evidence for regionally-selective changes in IL-1 and microglial markers after acute stress.  Brain, Behavior & Immunity, 23, 958-968.
  5. Brudzynski, S. M., Burgdorf, J., Cromwell, H. C., Harmon, K. M., Kroes, R. A., Moskal, J. R., & Panksepp, J. (2008). Rats selectively bred for low levels of 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations exhibit alterations in early social motivation. Developmental Psychobiology, 50(4): 322-331.
  6. Burgdorf, J., Panksepp, J., Brudzynski, S. M., Beinfeld, M. C., Cromwell, H. C., Kroes, R. A., & Moskal, J. R. (2009). The effects of selective breeding for differential rates of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations on emotional behavior in rats. Developmental Psychobiology, 51(1): 34-46.
  7. Daftary SS, Panksepp J, Dong Y, Saal, DB. 2009.  Stress-induced, glucocorticoid-dependent strengthening of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in midbrain dopamine neurons.  Neuroscience Letters, 452 (3): 273-6.
  8. Deak, T. (2007). From hippocampus to dorsal horn: the pervasive impact of IL-1 on learning and memory spans the length of the neuroaxis. Brain, Behavior & Immunity, 21: 746-747.
  9. Deak, T. (2008). Immune cells and cytokine circuits: Toward a working model for understanding direct immune-to-adrenal communication pathways. Endocrinology, 149(4), 1433-1435.
  10. Deak, T. (2008). From classic aspects of the stress response to neuroinflammation and sickness: Implications for individuals and offspring of diverse species. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, in press.
  11. Deak, T., Arakawa, H., Bekkedal, M.Y.V. & Panksepp, J. (2009).  Validation of a novel social investigation task that may dissociate social motivation from exploratory activity.  Behavioral Brain Research, 199, 326-333.
  12. Freed, P.J., Yanagihara, T.K., Hirsch, J., & Mann, J. J. (2009).  Neural mechanisms of grief regulation.  Biological Psychiatry, vol. 66 (1), 33-40. 
  13. Han, S., & Northoff, G. (2008). Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 9(8): 646-654.
  14. Harmon, K. M., Cromwell, H.C., Burgdorf, J., Moskal, J.R., Brudzynski, S. M., Kroes, R. A., & Panksepp, J. (2008).  Rats selectively bred for low levels of 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations exhibit alterations in early social motivation.  Developmental Psychobiology, 50 (4):  322-331. 
  15. Huang, Y. H., Lin, Y., Brown, T. E., Han, M-H., Saal, D. B., Neve, R. L., Zukin, R. S., Sorg, B. A., Nestler, E. J., Malenka, R. C., & Dong, Y. 2008. CREB modulates the functional output of nucleus accumbens neurons: A critical role of N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) receptors. The Journal of Biological Chemistr, 283(5): 2751-2760.
  16. Huang YH, Lin Y, Mu P, Lee BR, Brown TE, Wayman GA, Marie H, Liu W, Yan Z, Sorg BA, Schlüter OM, Zukin RS, Dong Y. 2009.  In vivo Cocaine Experience Generates Silent Synapses.  Neuron, 63:40-47.
  17. Impey S., Davare M., Lesiak A., Fortin D., Ando H, Varlamova O., Obrietan K., Soderling TR., Goodman RH, and Wayman G.A. (2010). An activity-induced microRNA controls dendritic spine formation by regulating Rac 1-Pak signaling. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, (43) 146-156.
  18. Ishikawa, M., Moyer, J., Wolf, J.A., Quock, R.M., Davis, N.M., Hu, X.T., Schlüter, O.M., Dong, Y. (2009). Homeostatic Synapse-driven Membrane Plasticity in Nucleus Accumbens Neurons.  Journal of Neuroscience, 29 (18): 5820-31.
  19. Lee, B. R., Mu, P., Saal, D. B., Ulibarri, C., & Dong, Y. 2008. Homeostatic recovery of downstate-upstate cycling in nucleus accumbens neurons. Neuroscience Letters, 434: 282-288.
  20. Manganas, L. N., Zhang, X., Li, Y., Hazel, R. D., Smith, S. D., Wagshul, M. E., Henn, F., Benveniste, H., Djuric´, P. M., Enikolopov, G., & Maletic´-Savatic´, M. (2007). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy identifies neural progenitor cells in the live human brain. Science, 318: 980-985.
  21. Mu P, Fuchs T, Saal DB, Sorg B, Dong Y, Panksepp J. 2009. Repeated Cocaine Exposure Induces Sensitization of Ultrasonic Vocalization in Rats. Neuroscience Letter, 453 (1): 31-5.
  22. Northoff, G., Walter, M., Schulte, R.F., Beck, J., Dydak, U., Henning, A., Boeker, H., Grimm, S., & Boesiger, P. (2007). GABA concentrations in the human anterior cingulate cortex predict negative BOLD responses in fMRI. Nature Neuroscience, 10(12): 1515-1517.
  23. Panksepp, J., Burgdorf, J., Beinfeld, M. C., Kroes, R. A., & Moskal, J. R. (2007). Brain regional neuropeptides changes resulting from social defeat. Behavioral Neuroscience, 121(6): 1364-1371.
  24. Tyszkiewicz, JP. Fong, TM, Dong, Y. 2008. GABA(B) receptors are required for galanin modulation of membrane properties of neurons in the arcuate nucleus of rats.  Brain Research, 1191: 63-8.
  25. Walter, M., Henning, A., Grimm, S., Schulte R.F., Beck, J., Dydak, U., Schnepf, B., Boeker, H., Boesiger, P., Northoff, G. (2009). The Relationship Between Aberrant Neuronal Activation in the Pregenual Anterior Cingulate, Altered Glutamatergic Metabolism, and Anhedonia in Major Depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(5): 478-486.