Irwin Lucki,
Irwin Lucki
Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Department: Psychiatry
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
Department of Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania
125 South 31st Street
Room 2204
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403
University of Pennsylvania
125 South 31st Street
Room 2204
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403
Office: 215-573-3305
Fax: 215-573-2149
Fax: 215-573-2149
Email:
LUCKI@PHARM.MED.UPENN.EDU
LUCKI@PHARM.MED.UPENN.EDU
Publications
Links
Search PubMed for articles
Neuroscience graduate group faculty webpage.
Pharmacological Sciences graduate group faculty webpage.
Neuropsychopharmacology Training Program
Search PubMed for articles
Neuroscience graduate group faculty webpage.
Pharmacological Sciences graduate group faculty webpage.
Neuropsychopharmacology Training Program
Education:
B.A. (Psychology)
University of Illinois, 1972.
M.A. (Psychology)
University of Iowa, 1976.
Ph.D. (Biopsychology)
University of Iowa, 1979.
Permanent linkB.A. (Psychology)
University of Illinois, 1972.
M.A. (Psychology)
University of Iowa, 1976.
Ph.D. (Biopsychology)
University of Iowa, 1979.
Description of Research Expertise
RESEARCH INTERESTS(1) Behavioral pharmacology; (2) Mechanism of action of antidepressant and antianxiety medications; (3) Stress neurobiology and psychiatric disorders
KEY WORDS:
Antidepressants; tranquilizers; stress; serotonin; microdialysis; knockouts; behavior
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Behavioral pharmacology in rats and mice; microdialysis measurement of extracellular concentrations of monoamines in conscious rats and mice; behavioral analysis of knockout mice; stereotaxic surgery; effects of brain lesions and neurotoxins on behavior; central drug administration; in vitro ligand binding; histology; radioimmunoassay; and HPLC analysis of brain monoamines
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Current studies focus on the role of specific neurotransmitters, such as serotonin (5-HT), in the behavioral effects of antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs. Animal models for depression and anxiety are used to evaluate the potential efficacy of different neurotransmitter and peptide receptors for clinical therapeutic effects, to identify brain regions associated with behavioral responses to drugs, and to construct and evaluate pharmacological models for improving the efficacy of psychiatric medications. The participation of central 5-HT neurotransmission in depression, anxiety and neuroendocrine regulation associated with behavioral stress is specifically being investigated. Microdialysis procedures are used to measure the release of neurotransmitters in discrete regions of awake freely-moving rats or mice. These studies provide information on the regulation of the release of neurotransmitters in different brain regions, determine environmental and behavioral conditions that alter the release of neurotransmitters, and measure the effects of drugs during behavioral performance. Finally, studies of different inbred mouse strains or knockout mice are examining genetic factors associated with complex behaviors and the behavioral effects of psychotherapeutic medications.
Selected Publications
Balu, D.T. and Lucki, I. : Adult hippocampal neurogenesis: Function and implications in disease etiology. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 33(3): 232-252, 2009.Balu DT, Hodes GE, Hill TE, Ho N, Rahman Z, Bender CN, Ring RH, Dwyer JM, Rosenzweig-Lipson S, Hughes ZA, Schechter LE, Lucki I.: Flow cytometric analysis of BrdU incorporation as a high-throughput method for measuring adult neurogenesis in the mouse. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods 59(2): 100-107, 2009.
Balu DT, Hodes GE, Anderson BT, Lucki I.: Enhanced sensitivity of the MRL/MpJ mouse to the neuroplastic and behavioral effects of chronic antidepressant treatments. Neuropsychopharmacology 34(7): 1764-1773, 2009.
Savitz J, Lucki I, Drevets WC.: 5-HT(1A) receptor function in major depressive disorder. Prog Neurobiol. 88(1): 17-31, 2009.
Bechtholt, A.J., Valentino, R.J. and Lucki, I. : Overlapping and distinct brain regions associated with the anxiolytic effects of chlordiazepoxide and chronic fluoxetine. Neuropsychopharmacology 33: 2117-2130, 2008.
Crowley JJ., Brodkin ES., Blendy JA., Berrettini WH., Lucki I.: Pharmacogenomic evaluation of the antidepressant citalopram in the mouse tail suspension test. Neuropsychopharmacology 31(11): 2433-42, Nov 2006.
Crowley JJ., Lucki I.: Opportunities to discover genes regulating depression and antidepressant response from rodent behavioral genetics. [Review] [141 refs] Current Pharmaceutical Design 11(2): 157-69, 2005.
Cryan JF., Valentino RJ., Lucki I.: Assessing substrates underlying the behavioral effects of antidepressants using the modified rat forced swimming test. [Review] [189 refs] Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 29(4-5): 547-69, 2005.
Hoshaw BA., Malberg JE., Lucki I.: Central administration of IGF-I and BDNF leads to long-lasting antidepressant-like effects. Brain Research 1037(1-2): 204-8, Mar 10 2005.
Andrews CM., Kung HF., Lucki I.: The 5-HT1A receptor modulates the effects of cocaine on extracellular serotonin and dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. European Journal of Pharmacology 508(1-3): 123-30, Jan 31 2005.