Research Interests
- taste, ingestive behaviors, animal models of eating disorders, neurobiology of energy metabolism
- polydrug use and behavior
Research Description
Feeding is fundamental to survival and reproduction.Multiple factors contribute to aberrant eating behaviors and the resulting obesity or eating disorders. My overall research program is aimed at identifying the underlying mechanisms of reward and motivation. Our current focus are aberrant eating behaviors and how various factors (e.g. exercise) contribute to these clinical conditions.
Education
Postdoctoral training, Johns Hopkins University
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Grants
NIH/NIDA R21DA045175 Mechanisms of metabolic and cognitive dysregulation after combined alcohol and THC use
NIH/NIDA R03DA043701 Consequences of simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use in adolescence
Courses Taught
PSYC 210: Behavioral Neuroscience
PSYC 417: Neuroscience of Eating and Drinking
Additional Campus Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Academic Service
Dr. Liang will be accepting a graduate student for Fall 2019 admission.
Recent Publications
Yang, T. Y., Gardner, J. C., Gao, Z., Pan, Y. X., & Liang, N. C. (2020). Role of glucocorticoid signaling in exercise-associated changes in high-fat diet preference in rats. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 318(3), R515-R528. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00288.2019
Nelson, N. G., Law, W. X., Weingarten, M. J., Carnevale, L. N., Das, A., & Liang, N. C. (2019). Combined ∆ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol and moderate alcohol administration: effects on ingestive behaviors in adolescent male rats. Psychopharmacology, 236(2), 671-684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-5093-3
Nelson, N. G., Weingarten, M. J., Law, W. X., Sangiamo, D. T., & Liang, N. C. (2019). Joint and separate exposure to alcohol and ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol produced distinct effects on glucose and insulin homeostasis in male rats. Scientific reports, 9(1), [12025]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48466-w
Yang, T. Y., Gardner, J. C., Gentile, J. D., & Liang, N. C. (2019). Sex and individual differences in meal patterns mediate the persistency of running-associated high-fat diet avoidance in rats. American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 316(2), R130-R143. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00231.2018
Nelson, N. G., Suhaidi, F. A., Law, W. X., & Liang, N. C. (2018). Chronic moderate alcohol drinking alters insulin release without affecting cognitive and emotion-like behaviors in rats. Alcohol, 70, 11-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2017.12.001