Neurobiology of cognitive and motivated behavior
Research in the Addy lab investigates the neurobiological basis of complex behavior, with a focus on motivated behaviors and the underlying cognitive and motivational processes that directly impact such behaviors. Nii Addy and his team employ in vivo voltammetry, chemogenetic, behavioral pharmacology, and biochemical approaches to investigate the roles of brain circuit-specific, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and L-type calcium channel mechanisms in preclinical rodent models of substance use and mood disorders. By identifying these mechanisms, research in the lab aims to discover novel and effective therapeutic targets for these neuropsychiatric illnesses and may also provide new insights into the etiology of these disorders. Additionally, Addy's team studies the ability of tobacco product flavorants, found in e-cigarette e-liquids and other products, to alter nicotine reward, nicotine aversion, and nicotine-taking behavior in adolescent and adult rats. This research is also revealing differential flavor effects on nicotine taking and nicotine seeking behavior in adolescents and adults, possibly due to neurodevelopmental differences at these different neurodevelopmental stages. Given the relevance of neurocognition, behavior, neurodevelopment, and neuroplasticity in the Addy lab, there are several opportunities for synergistic collaborations with other Wu Tsai researchers who share overlapping and intersecting interests.
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Biography
Addy received his BS in Biology from Duke University in 2000, his PhD in Neuroscience from Yale University in 2007, and completed a postdoctoral appointment in analytical chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He returned to Yale in 2010 and is currently the Albert E. Kent Associate Professor of Psychiatry and an Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology. He is grateful for the many mentors, sponsors, and colleagues who have invested in him and facilitated his development as a biomedical researcher, mentor, diversity, equity, and inclusion leader, mental health advocate, and more.