carl.stevenson@nottingham.ac.uk
Our research looks at how the brain is involved in threat processing and defensive behaviours in rodents. This work is leading to a better understanding of anxiety-related disorders and their treatment. These disorders are associated with excessive fear and avoidance, heightened arousal, and abnormal brain function in processing and responding to threat. Rodent defensive behaviours map on well to fear and avoidance, while the brain areas involved are also similar in humans. Our current research is looking at the relationship between different anxiety-related behaviours and arousal states, along with the brain areas involved.
Understanding neural mechanisms
Key Publications
Stubbendorff C, Hale E, Bast T, Cassaday HJ, Martin SJ, Suwansawang S, Halliday DM, Stevenson CW (2023) Dopamine D1-like receptors modulate synchronized oscillations in the hippocampal-prefrontal-amygdala circuit in contextual fear. Sci Rep 13:17631.
Stubbendorff C, Hale E, Day HL, Smith J, Alvaro G, Large CH, Stevenson CW (2023) Pharmacological modulation of Kv3 voltage-gated potassium channels regulates fear discrimination and expression in a response-dependent manner. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 127:110829.
Cassaday HJ, Muir C, Stevenson CW, Bonardi C, Hock R, Waite L (2023) From safety to frustration: The neural substrates of Pavlovian inhibition in aversive and appetitive conditioning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 202:107757
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