I completed a Thesis in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto at Scarborough. The project examined the role of intra-cerebroventricular injections of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) in rats trained to self-administer cocaine. We found that CRF infusions led to reinstatement of cocaine-seeking in animals that had previously extinguished their cocaine-seeking behavior. This result showed that stress-related peptides can trigger relapse to stimulants such as cocaine.
I completed a Master's in Science at the University of Montreal in the Biomedical Sciences program (Psychiatric Sciences track). My thesis looked at the effect of quetiapine on brain stimulation reward thresholds in rats undergoing withdrawal from chronic amphetamine administration. We found that acute amphetamine lowered reward thresholds, while withdrawal from chronic amphetamine treatment increased reward thresholds. Quetiapine did not have a favorable effect on amphetamine withdrawal: it increased thresholds by about 20%, which worsened anhedonia among rats who were already in a negative dopamine state.
I did a Ph.D. at the University of Montreal in the Biomedical Sciences (Psychiatric Sciences track). My thesis examined the effect of quetiapine on schizophrenia patients with and without substance use disorders (SUDs), relative to individuals with SUDs without schizophrenia. We found that quetiapine helped to manage withdrawal from psychoactive substances among individuals with SUDs without schizophrenia. Moreover, it helped to treat depression and psychosis among schizophrenia patients with and without SUDs, without significantly contributing to development of extrapyramidal symptoms.
7
- Meta-analyses published
9
- Systematic reviews published