Juvenile Alcohol Exposure: Neurobehavioral Consequences
(National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
PI: Ratna Sircar, Ph.D. (718) 470-8773
Adolescent female rats are studied to evalutate the impact of ethanol exposure on spatial memory.

Biobehavioral Psychopharmacology Laboratory
Dr. Ratna Sircar, Director

It is becoming more and more evident from clinical investigations that disturbances in brain development play an important role in the pathogenesis of psychiatric illnesses. Subtle alterations in normal brain development may underlie several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia that may or may not be associated with overt structural abnormalities. In our laboratory we have been studying the biochemical and molecular processes that regulate brain development, and the long-term neurobehavioral consequences of pharmacological manipulations during the perinatal period and adolescence.

We are interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms in developmental neuroplasticity, particularly learning and memory in young animals. Our work has focused on characterization of the developing glutamatergic system with an emphasis on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, and their role in learning and memory and drug addiction, and to develop animal models for specific endophenotypes of schizophrenia. We employ a multidisciplinary scientific approach to study the cellular neurochemical and mechanistic processes ranging from systemic level to molecular biology.

Techniques used include: immunohistochemistry, cDNA microarray, in vitro receptor binding, quantitative light microscopic receptor autoradiography, neurotransmitter release assay, behavioral testing (Morris water maze, fear conditioning, open field activity, seizure induction), neurohistology. Our research has been and is supported by funding from both the federal government (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse) and private foundations (National Alliance on Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) and Stanley Foundations).