Melanie P. Donley

		Graduate Student  -  Primary Advisor: Jeffrey Rosen Research Interests Recent Publications mpdonley@udel.edu Office: 126B Wolf Hall (302) 831-0467 (302) 831-3645 -fax Preferred contact method - email

Research Interests

Neurobiology of Emotion

Research Summary:

I am currently interested in the neurobiology of fear, and how chronic stress or fear leads to pathology due to alterations within the normal fear circuitry. My current research focuses on the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and the role it plays in fear and stress within both hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic areas of the brain. Specifically, CRH is inhibited within the hypothalamus following chronic stress or chronically high levels of corticosterone. However, in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), long-duration stress responses increase CRH production. The amygdala is the critical component of the fear circuit, and hyperactivity in this region may contribute to anxiety and depressive disorders. High levels of CRH in the cerebrospinal fluid of depressed and anxious patients suggest that this may be the case. Cell-specific mechanisms likely regulate the differential production of the CRH in the hypothalamus and the amygdala by corticosterone, hence their differential response to chronic stress. However, these mechanisms are currently speculative. Using several new techniques, combined with some classic techniques, my current research focuses on both genomic as well as protein-protein interactions within cells of the hypothalamus and amygdala, and whether these different factors play specific roles in the production of CRH.

Recent Publications

Rosen, J.B., West, E.A. & Donley, M.P. (2006). Not all rat strains are equal: Differential unconditioned fear responses to the synthetic fox odor trimethylthiazoline in three outbred rat strains. Behavioral Neuroscience, 120, 290-297.

Rosen, J.B. & Donley, M.P. (2006). Animal studies of amygdala function in fear and uncertainty: Relevance to human research. Biological Psychology, 73, 49-60.

Donley, M.P., Schulkin, J. & Rosen, J.B. (2005). Glucocorticoid receptor antagonism in the basolateral amygdala and ventral hippocampus interferes with long-term memory of contextual fear. Behavioural Brain Research, 164, 197-205.

Malkani, S., Wallace, K.J., Donley, M.P., & Rosen, J.B. (2004). An egr-1 (zif268) antisense oligodeoxynucleotide infused into the amygdala disrupts fear conditioning. Learning and Memory, 11, 617-624.

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