Research

What we study

Dr. Berry's lab explores the underpinnings of substances of abuse using in vivo rodent models - in other words, the changes in the brain that occur during intoxication as well as the changes that underlay chronic use of drugs and withdrawal from those drugs. In addition to the changes surrounding drugs of abuse, Dr. Berry's lab also explores receptor systems (i.e. adenosine receptors, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, stress hormone receptors) which may be useful in the treatment of substance dependence. Recent projects involve investigating the combined use of alcohol and caffeine (i.e. the popular combination of Redbull-Vodka), alcohol and nicotine co-dependence, and the role of stress and anxiety-like behavior during withdrawal from these substances.

Publications

Evans MJ*, Jenkins MD*, & Berry JN (2021). Low but not moderate amounts of caffeine increase co-consumption of ethanol in C57BL/6J mice. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. 208.

 

Peng C, Yan Y, Kim VJ, Engle SE, Berry JN, McIntosh JM, Neve RL, & Drenan RM (2019). Gene editing vectors for studying nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in cholinergic transmission. European Journal of Neuroscience 50: 2224-2238.

 

Robins MR, Chiang T, Berry JN, Ko MJ, Ha JE, & van Rijn RM (2018). Behavioral characterization of β-arrestin 1 knockout mice in anxiety-like and alcohol behaviors. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 12:54.

 

Peng, C, Engle, SE, Yan, Y, Weera, MM, Berry, JN, Arvin, MC, Zhao, G, McIntosh, JM, Chester, JA, & Drenan, RM (2017). Altered nicotine reward-associated behavior following α4 nAChR subunit deletion in ventral midbrain. PLoS One 12(7): e0182142.

 

Reynolds AR, Saunders MA, Berry JN, Sharrett-Field LJ, Winchester S, & Prendergast MA (2017). Broad-spectrum protein kinase inhibition by the staurosporine analog KT-5720 reverses ethanol withdrawal-associated loss of NeuN/Fox-3. Alcohol. 64: 37-43.

 

Berry JN, Saunders MA, Sharrett-Field LJ, Reynolds AR, & Prendergast MA (2016). Corticosterone enhances N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor signaling to promote ventral tegmental area neurotoxicity in the reconstituted mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Brain Research Bulletin. 120:159-165.

 

Berry JN, Engle SE, McIntosh JM, & Drenan RM (2015).  α6-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in midbrain dopamine neurons are poised to govern dopamine-mediated behaviors and synaptic plasticity. Neuroscience. 304: 161-175.

 

Reynolds AR, Berry JN, Sharrett-Field LJ, & Prendergast MA (2015). Ethanol withdrawal is required to produce persisting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent hippocampal cytotoxicity during chronic intermittent ethanol exposure. Alcohol. 49(3): 219-227.

 

Butler TR, Berry JN, Sharrett-Field LJ, & Prendergast MA (2013). Long-term ethanol and corticosterone co-exposure sensitize the hippocampus to insult during ethanol withdrawal in an NMDA GLUN2B subunit-dependent manner.  Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 37(12): 2066-2073.

 

Sharrett-Field LJ, Butler TR, Reynolds AR, Berry JN, & Prendergast MA (2013). Sex differences in neuroadaptation to alcohol and withdrawal toxicity. Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology. 465(5): 643-654

 

Sharrett-Field LJ, Butler TR, Berry JN, Reynolds AR, & Prendergast MA (2013). Mifepristone pre-treatment reduces ethanol withdrawal severity in vivo. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 37(8): 1417-1423.

 

Berry JN, Sharrett-Field LJ, Butler TR, & Prendergast MA (2012). Temporal dependence of cysteine protease activation following excitotoxic hippocampal injury. Neuroscience. 222: 147-158. [PMCID: PMC3433750].

 

Berry JN, Neugebauer NM, & Bardo MT (2012).  Reinstatement of methamphetamine conditioned place preference in nicotine-sensitized rats. Behavioural Brain Research. 235(2): 158-165. [PMCID: PMC3445737].

 

Butler TR, Self RL, Mulholland PJ, Smith KJ, Sharrett-Field LJ, Berry JN, Pauly JR, & Prendergast MA (2010). Selective vulnerability of hippocampal cornu ammonus 1 pyramidal cells to excitotoxic insult is associated with the expression of polylamine-sensitive N-methyl-D-asparate-type glutamate receptors.  Neuroscience. 165(2): 525-534. [PMCID: PMC2794945]

 

Butler TR, Smith KJ, Berry JN, Sharrett-Field LJ, & Prendergast MA. (2009). Sex differences in caffeine neurotoxicity are exacerbated by prior ethanol exposure and withdrawal. Alcohol and Alcoholism.  44(6): 567-574. [PMCID: PMC2842109]


undergraduate co-authors are denoted with *