Alexis C. Thompson, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Behavioral Neuroscience
Department of Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Contact Information
1021 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14203-1016
Office Phone: (716) 887-2243
Lab Phone: (716) 887-2226
Email: athompso@ria.buffalo.edu
Primary Research Areas
Experience-induced or drug-induced neural adaptations associated with increased vulnerability to, or expression of, drug addiction, anxiety, and maternal behavior; mesolimbic cortical pathway function; neuropeptide regulation of monoamines; behavioral regulation of pain and analgesia.
Representative and Recent Publications
Curtin, L. I., Grakowsky, J. A., Suarez, M., Thompson, A. C., DiPirro, J. M., Martin, L. B. E., & Kristal, M. B. (2009). Evaluation of buprenorphine in a post-operative pain model in rats. Comparative Medicine, 59, 60-71.
Shippenberg, T. S., Chefer, V. I. and Thompson, A. C. (2009) Delta-opioid receptor antagonists prevent sensitization to the conditioned rewarding effects of morphine. Biological Psychiatry, 65,169-74.
Neumann, A., Hoey, R. F., Daigler, L. B., Thompson, A. C., & Kristal, M.B. (2009) Ingestion of Amniotic Fluid Enhances the Facilitative Effect of VTA Morphine on the Onset of Maternal Behavior in Virgin Rats. Brain Research, 1261, 29-36.
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.01.015
Shen, R. Y., Choong, K. C., & Thompson, A. C. (2007). Long-term reduction in ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron population activity following repeated stimulant or ethanol treatment. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 93-100.
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.018
Thompson, A. C., Kristal, M. B., Sallaj, A., Acheson, A., Martin, L. B. E., & Martin, T. (2004). Analgesic efficacy of orally administered buprenorphine in rats: Methodological considerations. Comparative Medicine, 54, 289-301.
Thompson, A. C., Zapata, A. Justice, J. B., Jr., Vaughan, R. A., Sharpe, L. G., & Shippenberg, T. S. (2000). Kappa-opioid receptor activation modifies dopamine uptake in the nucleus accumbens and opposes the effects of cocaine. Journal of Neuroscience, 20, 9333-9340.
Chen, L., He, M., Sibille, E., Thompson, A. C., Sarnyai, Z., Baker, H., Shippenberg, T., & Toth, M. (1999). Adaptive changes in postsynaptic dopamine receptors despite unaltered dopamine dynamics in mice lacking monoamine oxidase B. Journal of Neurochemistry, 73, 647-55.
Shippenberg, T. S., LeFevour, A., & Thompson, A. C. (1998). Sensitization to the conditioned rewarding effect of morphine and cocaine: Differential effects of kappa opioid receptor agonist U-69593. European Journal of Pharmacology, 345, 27-34.
Thompson, A. C., & Kristal, M. B. (1996). Opioid stimulation in the ventral tegmental area facilitates the onset of maternal behavior in rats. Brain Research, 743, 184-201.
Heidbreder, C. A, Thompson, A. C., & Shippenberg T. S. (1996). Role of extracellular dopamine in the initiation and long-term expression of behavioral sensitization to cocaine. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 278, 490-502.
Thompson, A. C., Justice, J. B., Jr., & McDonald, J. K. (1995). Quantitative microdialysis of neuropeptide Y. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 60, 189-198.