LAB
FOCUS
The Ressler lab at Yerkes National Primate Research Center
is focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of fear
learning and the process of extinction of fear in mouse
models. The primary objective of the work in the Ressler
lab is to utilize the power of molecular genetics to understand
the molecular biology, the neural circuitry, and the behavioral
biology of fear and extinction of fear in mouse models.
Dr. Ressler is also a practicing psychiatrist with an interest
in translational and clinical research on fear-based psychiatric
disorders. During his clinical time, Dr. Ressler is co-director
of a newly created Post-traumatic Stress Disorders Clinic
at the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic at Grady Memorial
Hospital. We hope that by understanding how fear works in
the mammalian brain in the laboratory, it will improve our
understanding of and provide translational treatments and
possibly prevention for fear-based disorders, such as Post-traumatic
Stress Disorder, Phobic Disorders, and Panic Disorder.
PTSD:
Grady Trauma Project
Selected
References:
Bradley RG, Binder EB, Epstein MP, Tang Y, Nair HP, Liu W, Gillespie CF, Berg T, Evces M, Newport DJ, Stowe ZN, Heim CM, Nemeroff CB, Schwartz AC, Cubells JF, and Ressler KJ (2008) Influence of Child Abuse on Adult Depression is Moderated by the Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Receptor Gene. Archives of General Psychiatry Archives of General Psychiatry 2008 65(2): 190-200.
Ressler KJ and Mayberg HS (2007) Targeting abnormal neural circuits in mood and anxiety disorders: from the laboratory to the clinic. Nature Neuroscience 2007 10(9): 1116-1124.
Heldt S.A. and Ressler, K.J. (2007) Training-induced changes in the expression of
GABAA-associated genes in the amygdala after the
acquisition and extinction of Pavlovian fear. European Journal of Neuroscience, 2007, 26(12):3631-3644.
Heldt S.A. and Ressler, K.J. (2007) Forebrain and midbrain distribution of major benzodiazepine-sensitive GABA(A) receptor subunits in the adult c57 mouse as assessed with in situ hybridization. Neuroscience, 2007, 150(2): 370-385.
Almonte AG, Hamill CE, Chhatwal JP, Wingo TS, Barber JA, Lyuboslavsky PN,
David Sweatt J, Ressler KJ, White DA, Traynelis SF. (2007)
Learning and memory deficits in mice lacking protease activated receptor-1. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2007 Oct;88(3):295-304.
Chhatwal JP and Ressler KJ (2007) Modulation of fear and anxiety by the endogenous cannabinoid system.CNS Spectrums 2007, 12(3):211-220.
Heldt SA, Stanek L, Chhatwal JP, and Ressler KJ (2007) Hippocampus-specific deletion of BDNF in adult mice impairs spatial memory and extinction of aversive memories. Molecular Psychiatry; 12 (7): 656-70.
Chhatwal JP, Hammack SE, Jasnow AM, Rainnie DG, and Ressler KJ (2007) Identification of cell-type-specific promoters within the brain using lentiviral vectors. Gene Therapy; 14(7): 575-83.
Chhatwal JP, Stanek-Rattiner L, Davis M, Ressler KJ. (2006) Amygdala BDNF signaling is required for consolidation but not encoding of extinction. Nature Neurosci. 2006 9(7): 870-872.
Heldt SA and Ressler KJ. (2006) Localized injections of midazolam into the amygdala and hippocampus induce differential changes in anxiolytic-like motor activity in mice. Behavioral Pharmacology. 2006 17: 349-356
Myers KM, Ressler KJ, Davis M. (2006) Different mechanisms of fear extinction dependent on length of time since fear acquisition.Learn Mem. 2006 Mar-Apr;13(2):216-23.
Schwartz, A., Penza, K., Bradley, R., Jay, D., Haggard, P., Sexton, M., Garlow, S. and Ressler, K.J (2006) Increased use of Opiate and Non-Opiate Pain Medication Use in Patients with PTSD. Psychosomatics, Mar-Apr;47(2):136-42 .
Heldt, S. and Ressler, K.J. (2006) Lesions of the habenula produce stress- and dopamine-dependent alterations in prepulse inhibition and locomotion. Brain Research: Feb 16;1073-1074:229-39.
Chhatwal, J.P., Davis, M., Maguschak, K.A. and Ressler, K.J. (2005) Enhancing Cannabinoid Neurotransmission Augments the Extinction of Conditioned Fear. Neuropsychopharmacology, 30(3):516-524.
Chhattwal, J., Myers, K., Ressler, K.J., and Davis, M. (2005) Differential Modulation of Gephyrin and GABAA Receptors during Fear Conditioning and Extinction. J Neuroscience , 25(2):502-506.
Schwartz, A., Sexton, M., Sherry, A., Bradley, R., and Ressler, K.J. (2005) Trauma in the Inner City: Prevalence and Comorbidity of PTSD in an Urban African American Population. Psychiatric Services, 56(2): 212-5.Psychiatric Services, 56(2): 212-215.
Ressler, K.J. , Rothbaum, B.O., Anderson, P., Zimand, E., Tannenbaum, L., Hodges, L., and Davis, M. (2004) D-Cycloserine, a Putative Cognitive Enhancer, Accelerates Extinction of Fear in Humans. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61:1136-44.
Rattiner, L., Davis, M., and Ressler, K.J. (2004) Differential control of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Exon Expression with Fear Conditioning. Learning and Memory, 11(6):727-731.
Jones SV, Heldt SA, Davis M, and Ressler KJ (2005) Olfactory-cued fear conditioning in mice, measured simultaneously with fear-potentiated startle and freezing. Behavioral Neuroscience 119(1):329-335
Rattiner, L., Davis, M., and Ressler, K.J. (2004) Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Amygdala-Dependent Learning. The NeuroScientist 11(4):323-333
Rattiner, L., Davis, M., French, C.T. and Ressler, K.J. (2004) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and tyrosine kinase receptor B involvement in amygdala-dependent fear conditioning. J. Neuroscience, 24(20):4796-4806.
Heldt, S., Green, A, and Ressler, K.J. (2004) GAD65 mutant animals demonstrate impaired prepulse inhibition that is reversible with antipsychotics. Neuropsychopharmacology, 29(9):1610-9.
Hague C, Uberti MA, Chen Z, Ressler K, Bush C, Hall RA, and Minneman KP (2004) Olfactory receptor surface expression is driven by association with the b2-adrenoceptor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101 (37) 13672-13676.
Schwartz A, Bradley R, Ressler K, Sexton M, Sherry A. (2004) Treating posttraumatic stress disorder in urban African American mental health patients. J Am Psychoanal Assoc. Spring;52(2):464-5.
Ressler, K.J. and Davis, M. (2003) Genetics of Childhood Disorders: L. Learning and Memory, Part 3: Fear Conditioning. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psych. 42(5): 612-615.
Ressler, K.J., Paschall, G., Zhou, X.L., and Davis, M. (2002) Regulation of Synaptic Plasticity Genes During Consolidation of Fear Conditioning. J. Neuroscience 22(18): 7892-7902.
Walker, D., Ressler, K.J., Lu, K-T., and Davis, M. (2002) Facilitation of conditioned fear extinction by systemic administration or intra-amygdala infusions of D-cycloserine as assessed with fear-potentiated startle in rats. J. Neuroscience, 22(6), 2343-2351.
Ressler, K.J. and Nemeroff, C.B. (2001) The Role of Norepinephrine in the Pathophysiology of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. CNS Spectrums, 6(8), 663-670.
Ressler, K.J. and Nemeroff, C.B. (2000) The Role of Serotonergic and Noradrenergic Systems in Depression and Anxiety Disorders. Depression & Anxiety, 12 (Suppl 1), 2-19.
Ressler, K.J. and Nemeroff, C.B. (1999) Role of Norepinephrine in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders. Biological Psychiatry 46, 1219-1233.
Sullivan, S.L., Adamson, M.C., Ressler, K.J., Kozak, C.A., and Buck, L.B. (1996) The chromosomal distribution of mouse odorant receptor genes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93 (2), 884-888.
Sullivan, S.L., Bohm, S., Ressler, K.J., Horowitz, L.F., and Buck, L.B. (1995) Target-independent pattern specification in the olfactory epithelium. Neuron 15, 779-789.
Ressler, K.J., Sullivan, S.L., and Buck, L.B. (1994) Information Coding in the Olfactory System: Evidence for a Stereotyped and Highly Organized Epitope Map in the Olfactory Bulb. Cell 79, 1245-1255.
Ressler, K.J., Sullivan, S.L., and Buck, L.B. (1993) A Zonal Organization of Odorant Receptor Gene Expression in the Olfactory Epithelium. Cell 73, 597-609.
Acworth, I., Ressler, K., and Wurtman, R. (1989) Feeding associated alterations in striatal neurotransmitter release. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences 575, 596-598.
