Investigators and Program Directors
Abigail Snyder-Keller
Research Scientist, Wadsworth Center, Nervous System Disorders
Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Biomedical Sciences
Ph.D., Psychobiology, University of Pittsburgh, 1983 (Dr.
Michael Zigmond, advisor).
Postdoctoral training, University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine, 1983-1986 (Dr. Raymond Lund, advisor).
Research Interests
Dr. Snyder-Keller's laboratory specializes in developmental neuroanatomy. This research involves examining various aspects of the development and plasticity of the basal ganglia, regions of the brain involved in motor control. In one important region, the striatum, neuroanatomical studies have revealed a characteristic organization of the various cell types into "patches" which develop early in life. Using a combination of in vivo techniques (lesions and transplants) and in vitro techniques (organotypic cultures), we have been examining the role of intrinsic versus extrinsic influences on the development of this organization. In addition, we are studying alterations in the development of these structures induced by prenatal drug exposure, specifically cocaine or alcohol, and testing whether the neural alterations we see are due specifically to the effect of these drugs on the fetal brain, or indirectly to their ability to reduce blood flow to the fetus. We have also studied the sensitivity of these prenatally drug-exposed rats to challenges in adulthood, and found that they are more susceptible to seizures induced by a variety of convulsant drugs. Because there are individual differences in this enhanced susceptibility, we will be looking for anatomical changes that correlate with this effect, including differences in the ability of cocaine to induce the immediate-early gene c-fos in various regions of the brain. Through an understanding of the normal processes that guide brain development, and the ways in which developmental exposure to drugs of abuse or other neurotoxicants can alter these processes, we may begin to develop the means to treat or prevent any functional defects that occur.
Contact Information
E-mail: snykell@wadsworth.org.