Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Ph.D. 1980,
The general area of my
research is animal psychopharmacology and behavioral neuroscience. Using the
rat as a model for mammalian brain function, we investigate the anatomical, neurochemical, and neuromolecular
substrates of appetitively motivated behavior. Main
areas of research include analysis of the neural basis of feeding and other ingestive behaviors, circuitry involved instrumental
learning, and analysis of the behavioral and neurochemical
effects of addictive drugs, such as opiates, nicotine, cocaine and amphetamine.
The brain system most studied in this laboratory is the nucleus accumbens, a ventral part of the basal ganglia, as well as
its important input and output structures such as prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and ventral tegmental area. Techniques used in the laboratory include
analysis of animal behavior, drug microinfusion,
basic perfusion and histology, immunocytochemistry,
and molecular biology. In recent years there have been several major research
areas. One involves the study of the nucleus accumbens
shell in the control of feeding behavior, including focus on the
neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate. A second project examines the role of accumbens opioid peptides in
feeding and particularly in palatability ("food pleasure"). A third
project investigates the role of the accumbens core
region and its associated inputs (such as amygdala)
in positively motivated instrumental learning, with particular focus on
NMDA-receptor dependent plasticity and intracellular mechanisms. A fourth area
of study examines intracellular and genomic mechanisms underlying the long-term
neuroadaptive effects of drugs of abuse, with focus
on conditioning effects of drugs such as morphine. Our research, which is
primarily funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has relevance for a
number of human conditions, including addiction, eating disorders, obesity, and
affective disorders.
KELLEY A.E., BERRIDGE, K. The neuroscience
of natural rewards: relevance to addictive drugs. Journal of Neuroscience, 22:3306-3311, 2002
HERNANDEZ P.J. KELLEY A.E. Early consolidation of appetitive instrumental learning
requires protein synthesis in the nucleus accumbens. Nature Neuroscience
5: 1327-1331, 2002
WILL M.J., FRANZBLAU E.B., KELLEY A.E.
Nucleus accumbens µ-opioids
regulate high-fat food intake via activation of a distributed brain network. Journal of Neuroscience, 23: 2882-2888.,
2003.
KELLEY A.E., WILL M., STEININGER T., ZHANG
M., HABER S. Restricted daily access to
highly palatable food (chocolate Ensure) alters striatal
enkephalin gene expression. European Journal of Neuroscience, 18:2592-2598, 2004.