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Contact Information
Dr. Lori Knackstedt
Department of Psychology
University of Florida
PO Box 112250
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
Office: 322 PSY
Phone: (352) 273-2185
Email: knack@ufl.edu
Website: Department of Psychology Profile
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Position
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida
Research Area
Dr. Knackstedt is interested in the neurobiology of drug addiction with a focus on the glutamate neurotransmitter system.
Training
B.S. in Biology, Magna cum laude, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA (Advisor: Aaron Ettenberg)
Current Research
Dr. Knackstedt is focusing on gaining a better understanding of the neurochemical and molecular changes that occur following the learned response of drug self-administration in order to develop effective behavioral and pharmacological therapies for addiction. Therefore, the primary goal of her research is to determine biological factors contributing to the long-term behavioral adaptations produced by cocaine and alcohol self-administration in rodents. Secondary to this is goal is exploring methods of counteracting these pathological neuroadaptations to reverse the pathologies of learning and memory which drive relapse to drug-seeking. Her current research is working to assess the role of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the nucleus accumbens in relapse to alcohol and cocaine. To do so, she uses animal models of drug self-administration and relapse to identify alterations in glutamate levels using microdialysis procedures and protein expression using western blotting. She targets the identified pathologies with pharmacotherapies and genetic approaches, such as AAV-mediated over-expression.
Recent Publications:
- Hadad, N (g), Schwendt, M, Knackstedt L. (2020). Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Cocaine Use Disorder. Stress. Online ahead of print.
- Smaga I, Fierro D (ug), Mesa J (g), Filip M, Knackstedt LA. (2020). Molecular changes evoked by the beta-lactam antibiotic ceftriaxone across rodent models of substance use disorder and neurological disease. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 115:116-130.
- Bechard AR (p), Logan CN (g), Mesa J (g), Hernandez YP (ug), Blount H (ug), Hodges VL (ug), Knackstedt, L (2020). Role of prefrontal cortex projections to the nucleus accumbens core in mediating the effects of ceftriaxone on cued cocaine seeking. Addiction Biology Online ahead of print.
- Logan CN (g), Bechard AR (p), Hamor PU (g), Wu L, Schwendt M, Knackstedt LA (2020). Ceftriaxone and mGlu2/3 interactions in the nucleus accumbens core affect the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking in male and female rats. Psychopharmacology 237(7): 2007-2018. PMID: 3238278
- Stennett BA (g), Padovan-Hernandez Y (ug), Knackstedt LA. (2020). Sequential cocaine-alcohol self-administration produces adaptations in rat nucleus accumbens core glutamate homeostasis that are distinct from those produced by cocaine self-administration alone. Neuropsychopharmacology. 45(3):441-450.
- Shallcross J (g), Hámor P, Bechard AR (p), Romano M (ug), Knackstedt L, Schwendt M. (2019). The Divergent Effects of CDPPB and Cannabidiol on Fear Extinction and Anxiety in a Predator Scent Stress Model of PTSD in Rats. Front Behav Neurosci. 13:91.
- Bechard, AR (p), Knackstedt, LA. (2019). The effects of Pavlovian cue extinction on cocaine relapse after abstinence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 197:83-86. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30784953
- Bechard, AR (p), Hamor P, Wu, L, Schwendt, M, Knackstedt, LA. (2019). The effects of clavulanic acid and amoxicillin on cue-primed reinstatement of cocaine-seeking. Behavioral Neuroscience. 133(2):247-254. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30714803