Research Interests
- Drugs of abuse
- Addiction
- Plasticity
- Motivation
- Neuroscience
- Cognition
Research Description
Dr. Gulley's laboratory studies the neurobiological and behavioral consequences of repeated exposure to psychoactive drugs such as alcohol, THC (cannabis), and the amphetamines. In addition, they investigate motivation, cognitive behavior and brain circuitry in drug naïve individuals, especially in rodent models of adolescence. Examples of current research questions addressed by the lab include:
- Do functional immaturities in the adolescent brain explain age differences in motivation and cognitive behavior that contribute to a heightened vulnerability to use and abuse drugs?
- Are adolescents, compared to adults, more sensitive to drug-induced changes in neural function and behavior?
- Are there more adverse consequences when drug exposure occurs early in life?
In the lab, Dr. Gulley and his students use behavioral and physiological methods of analysis, both alone and in combination. For behavior, they study drug responses using operant drug self-administration, drug discrimination, and behavioral sensitization techniques. They also use operant food-reinforced responding to assess cognitive behaviors, including impulsivity, behavioral flexibility, attention, and working memory, as well as maze-based behavioral assessments (e.g., elevated plus maze; T-maze). Physiological measure include in vivo multiple neuron electrophysiology, which allows for the recording of the activity of a large number of brain cells as animals are actively behaving, in vitro brain slice electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, gel electrophoresis, and immunoblotting techniques.
Education
- Ph.D. from Indiana University
- B.S. from the University of Iowa
Grants
- Mechanisms of metabolic and cognitive dysregulation after combined alcohol and THC use (R21 DA045175)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Director, Illinois Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC), Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Recent Publications
Hammerslag, L. R., Belagodu, A. P., Aladesuyi Arogundade, O. A., Karountzos, A. G., Guo, Q., Galvez, R., ... Gulley, J. M. (2019). Adolescent impulsivity as a sex-dependent and subtype-dependent predictor of impulsivity, alcohol drinking and dopamine D 2 receptor expression in adult rats Addiction Biology, 24(2), 193-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12586
Hankosky, E. R., Westbrook, S. R., Haake, R. M., Willing, J., Raetzman, L. T., Juraska, J. M., & Gulley, J. M. (2018). Age- and sex-dependent effects of methamphetamine on cognitive flexibility and 5-HT 2C receptor localization in the orbitofrontal cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats Behavioural Brain Research, 349, 16-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.04.047
Hankosky, E. R., Westbrook, S. R., Haake, R. M., Marinelli, M., & Gulley, J. M. (2018). Reduced sensitivity to reinforcement in adolescent compared to adult Sprague-Dawley rats of both sexes. Psychopharmacology, 235(3), 861-871. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4804-5
Kang, S., Cox, C. L., & Gulley, J. M. (2018). High frequency stimulation-induced plasticity in the prelimbic cortex of rats emerges during adolescent development and is associated with an increase in dopamine receptor function. Neuropharmacology, 141, 158-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.08.037
Sherrill, L. K., & Gulley, J. M. (2018). Effects of amphetamine exposure during adolescence on behavior and prelimbic cortex neuron activity in adulthood. Brain Research, 1694, 111-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2018.05.028
