Did you know
that the drugs used to treat anxiety may also make some
foods appear to be more tasty & some people who take these
drugs gain weight?
Professors
Pittman & Baird are conducting a collaborative research project to examine the
effect of anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines on
food palatability.
SUMMARY OF OUR RESEARCH GOALS:
1. Understanding the influence
of benzodiazepines on food palatability.
Obesity continues to be a
major health concern affecting increasing numbers of
Americans. Advances in the pharmacological treatment of
obesity are dependent on a better understanding of the
neural control and regulation of food palatability and
feeding behavior. Benzodiazepines are a class of anxiolytic
drugs that facilitate the effectiveness of the GABA
neurotransmitter’s inhibitory action in the brain. Over 11%
of Americans have been prescribed benzodiazepines for
anxiolytic relief. Prior studies in a rat animal model have
shown that benzodiazepines potently increase consumption of
food, producing a state of hyperphagia and weight gain,
which is a common side effect of benzodiazepines.
Understanding the mechanisms that might underlie this weight
gain in a rat animal model could aid in the prevention of the prevalence of
weight gain in people prescribed benzodiazepines.
2. Understanding the role of
GABA and the hindbrain in processing afferent gustatory
neural signals.
Benzodiazepines modulate the activity of receptors for the
brain neurochemical known as “GABA”. Research has shown that experience and
benzodiazepines can change the hedonic value (pleasantness)
of taste stimuli. The parabrachial nucleus (PBN) in the
hindbrain represents an ideal location for this interaction
to occur because it receives both afferent visceral and
taste neural signals, as well as input from forebrain
structures that process hedonic value. Our research seeks
to understand the role of the GABA inhibitory
neurotransmitter in modifying afferent taste signals in this
hindbrain nucleus.
3. Training tomorrow's scientists.
Both Wofford and
Amherst colleges provide superb liberal arts educations.
Professors Pittman and Baird are providing opportunities at these
institutions for undergraduate students to gain high-quality
scientific training in a variety of behavioral and
neurophysiological methodologies. The experience of
working on a project in the Pittman or Baird laboratory can
prepare students to effectively transition into top-notch
Ph.D. graduate programs with meticulous data collection and
advanced data analysis skills, the ability to comprehend and
assimilate primary research literature, and the skills to
effectively present research at conferences and write
research publications. As documented on our
people in the lab page, our students enjoy success
in a variety of scientific, medical, and health-profession
graduate programs.
Our collaborative research
project is supported by the National Institute On
Deafness And Other Communication Disorders of the
National Institutes of Health under Award Number
R15DC012195.
CURRENT
PROJECTS IN THE LAB:
Students in Dr. Pittman's
laboratory are examining the effect of benzodiazepines
injected directly into the brainstem parabrachial nucleus (PBN) on
the licking responses of rats during long-term testing in
the
AC-108
lickometer and during brief-access testing in the
MS-160 lickometer.
Dr. Pittman is
writing a paper summarizing research describing the
effect of whole body injections of benzodiazepines on
licking to taste solutions during brief-access testing
in the
MS-160 lickometer.
Dr. Baird is
writing a paper summarizing research describing the effect of benzodiazepines on taste neural
responses in the brainstem parabrachial nucleus (PBN).
