Lynn Wecker, Ph.D.
Professor
| Contact Information |
3515 E. Fletcher Avenue, MDC 14
Tampa, FL 33613
Voice: (813) 974-5189
Fax: (813) 974-3236
Email: lwecker@health.usf.edu |
| Education |
- University of Florida, Ph.D. 1972
- Vanderbilt University, Postdoctoral 1973-1976
- Fellow of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program 1997-1998 |
| Interests |
Our laboratory seeks to understand how brain chemistry affects or determines behaviors with an emphasis on the etiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, depression and addictive behaviors. Multidisciplinary approaches are used to elucidate how age, drugs of abuse, and environmental and genetic factors affect both brain chemistry and behavior. We are particularly interested in the long-term consequences of drug exposure during adolescence, and how personality traits affect drug response. Studies include elucidating the effects of sustained nicotine exposure on the function and expression of neuronal nicotinic receptors and transcription factors in the brain. Results from these studies will ultimately provide information on the molecular and cellular basis of behavior, thereby leading to new strategies for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. |
| Publications
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- Ikonomovic, I., Wecker, L., Abrahamson, E.E., Wu, J., Counts, C., Ginsberg, S.D., Mufson, E.J. and DeKosky, S.T. (2009)
Cortical α7 Nicotinic Receptor and β-Amyloid Levels in Early Alzheimer's Disease.
Arch. Neurol., in press.
- Pollock, V.V., Pastoor, T., Katnik, C., Cuevas, J., and Wecker, L. (2009)
Nicotinic Receptor α4 Subunits Are Phosphorylated at Distinct Stages in the Assembly and Maturation of α4β2 Receptors, Differentially Affecting Receptor Density and Function, Neurosci.
Available online 27 November 2008.
- Philpot, R.M. and Wecker, L. (2008)
Dependence of adolescent novelty-seeking behavior on response phenotype and effects of apparatus scaling.
Behavioral Neurosci. 122: 861-875.
- Pollock, V.V., Pastoor, T. and Wecker, L. (2007)
Cyclic AMP-dependent Protein Kinase (PKA) Phosphorylates Serines 362 and 467 and Protein Kinase C Phosphorylates Serine 550 Within the M3/M4 Cytoplasmic Domain of Human Nicotinic Receptor α4 Subunits,
J. Neurochem. 103: 456-466.
- Zesiewicz, T.A., Wecker, L., Sullivan, K.L., Merlin, L.R. and Hauser, R.A. (2006)
The Controversy Concerning Plasma Homocysteine in Parkinson's Disease Patients Treated with Levodopa Alone or with Entacapone: Effects of Vitamin Status.
Clin. Neuropharmacol. 29: 106-111.
- Torrella, T.A., Badanich, K.A., Philpot, R.M., Kirstein, C. and Wecker, L. (2004)
Developmental Differences in Nicotine Place Conditioning. In: Adolescent Brain Development: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities (R. Dahl and L. Spear, Eds.)
Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1021: 399-403.
Additional Publications by Dr. Wecker
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