Dr. Yanhua Huang received her PhD in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, and completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and Washington State University. Her work is focused on the neural mechanisms by which sleep regulates the brain reward circuitry. Her lab uses rodent models and a multidisciplinary approach including brain slice electrophysiology, EEG recordings, molecular biology, and behavioral assays. Dr. Huang is the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator for several ongoing research projects funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She is also a member of the training faculty in the University Center for Neuroscience (CNUP) program.
Location: Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic Auditorium
For More Information: Please contact Frances Patrick (patrickfm@upmc.edu).
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this lecture, participants will be able to:
Understand the necessity of using animal models to probe for mechanisms underlying sleep-mediated regulation of reward processing in the brain.
Identify a top-down control mechanism that is compromised by loss of sleep, and its impact on reward-elicited behaviors.
Use an example to explain why persistent sleep abnormalities that occur after drug withdrawal may present new targets for effective treatment.