Teixeira Lab
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Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
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- One of the most important environmental factors influencing brain development, and later vulnerability to maladaptive behaviors, is maternal care. Recently we found that the mother’s presence or absence regulates the activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in 11-day-old rat pups through the serotonergic system. We are now focused on how changes in serotonergic signaling in the PFC during development affect adaptive behavior in the adult.
- Serotonin and dopamine are two key regulators of mood, reward-seeking, and motivated behavior. Several environmental factors have been shown to alter serotonin levels during development and lead to behavioral deficits in the adult (e.g. exposure to SSRIs, early-life stress, and maternal inflammation). In this line of study, we explore how changes in serotonin levels during development affect the dopaminergic system because understanding changes in this neuronal circuit following developmental insults is key to preventing/treating behavioral deficits later in life.
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