research overview
- Dr Day's research focuses on understanding the neural circuits associated with stress responses.
- Contact Info
Day, Heidi E W Teaching Professor
Positions
- Senior Instructor, Psychology and Neuroscience
Research Areas
Research
Publications
selected publications
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conference proceeding
- Preimmunization with a heat-killed preparation of Mycobacterium vaccae reduces corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm 2018
- Slc22a3, a potential second presynaptic serotonin transporter 2018
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journal article
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Remote CB1 receptor antagonist administration reveals multiple sites of tonic and phasic endocannabinoid neuroendocrine regulation.
Psychoneuroendocrinology.
2020
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Effects of maternal separation on serotonergic systems in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei of adult male Tph2-deficient mice.
Behavioural Brain Research.
2019
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Evidence that preimmunization with a heat-killed preparation of Mycobacterium vaccae reduces corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA expression in the extended amygdala in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm.
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
127-140.
2019
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Preimmunization with a heat-killed preparation of Mycobacterium vaccae enhances fear extinction in the fear-potentiated startle paradigm.
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
70-84.
2017
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Early life diets with prebiotics and bioactive milk fractions attenuate the impact of stress on learned helplessness behaviours and alter gene expression within neural circuits important for stress resistance.
European Journal of Neuroscience.
342-357.
2017
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Reversible inactivation of rostral nucleus raphe pallidus attenuates acute autonomic responses but not their habituation to repeated audiogenic stress in rats.
Stress.
248-259.
2016
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Evidence for the Integration of Stress-Related Signals by the Rostral Posterior Hypothalamic Nucleus in the Regulation of Acute and Repeated Stress-Evoked Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Response in Rat.
Journal of Neuroscience.
795-805.
2016
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Voluntary exercise during extinction of auditory fear conditioning reduces the relapse of fear associated with potentiated activity of striatal direct pathway neurons.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.
224-235.
2015
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Wheel running alters patterns of uncontrollable stress-induced cfos mRNA expression in rat dorsal striatum direct and indirect pathways: A possible role for plasticity in adenosine receptors.
Behavioural Brain Research.
252-263.
2014
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Habituation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis hormones to repeated homotypic stress and subsequent heterotypic stressor exposure in male and female rats.
Stress.
224-234.
2014
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Stressor-specific effects of sex on HPA axis hormones and activation of stress-related neurocircuitry.
Stress.
664-677.
2013
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Microarray analyses reveal novel targets of exercise-induced stress resistance in the dorsal raphe nucleus.
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
2013
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SEX DIFFERENCES IN ACTIVATED CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR NEURONS WITHIN STRESS-RELATED NEUROCIRCUITRY AND HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENOCORTICAL AXIS HORMONES FOLLOWING RESTRAINT IN RATS.
Neuroscience.
40-52.
2013
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Central gene expression changes associated with enhanced neuroendocrine and autonomic response habituation to repeated noise stress after voluntary wheel running in rats.
Frontiers in Physiology.
2013
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Sex and estradiol influence glial pro-inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide in rats.
Psychoneuroendocrinology.
1688-1699.
2012
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5-HT2C Receptors in the Basolateral Amygdala and Dorsal Striatum Are a Novel Target for the Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects of Exercise.
PLoS ONE.
2012
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Auditory cortex lesions do not disrupt habituation of HPA axis responses to repeated noise stress.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
18-26.
2012
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CANNABINOID RECEPTOR TYPE 1 ANTAGONISM SIGNIFICANTLY MODULATES BASAL AND LOUD NOISE INDUCED NEURAL AND HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS RESPONSES IN MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS.
Neuroscience.
64-73.
2012
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Evidence for a lack of phasic inhibitory properties of habituated stressors on HPA axis responses in rats.
Physiology and Behavior.
568-575.
2012
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Little Exercise, Big Effects: Reversing Aging and Infection-Induced Memory Deficits, and Underlying Processes.
Journal of Neuroscience.
11578-11586.
2011
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Effects of voluntary wheel running on heart rate, body temperature, and locomotor activity in response to acute and repeated stressor exposures in rats.
Stress.
324-334.
2011
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Long-term voluntary wheel running is rewarding and produces plasticity in the mesolimbic reward pathway.
Behavioural Brain Research.
354-362.
2011
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Lack of Contextual Modulation of Habituated Neuroendocrine Responses to Repeated Audiogenic Stress.
Behavioral Neuroscience.
810-820.
2010
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Physical activity, but not environmental complexity, facilitates HPA axis response habituation to repeated audiogenic stress despite neurotrophin mRNA regulation in both conditions.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
68-77.
2010
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Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis Responses to Low-Intensity Stressors are Reduced After Voluntary Wheel Running in Rats.
Journal of Neuroendocrinology.
872-888.
2010
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Stress rapidly increases alpha 1d adrenergic receptor mRNA in the rat dentate gyrus.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
109-118.
2010
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Accessory and main olfactory systems influences on predator odor-induced behavioral and endocrine stress responses in rats.
Behavioural Brain Research.
70-77.
2010
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Disruption of neuroendocrine stress responses to acute ferret odor by medial, but not central amygdala lesions in rats.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
79-87.
2009
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Reversible inactivation of the auditory thalamus disrupts HPA axis habituation to repeated loud noise stress exposures.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
123-130.
2009
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Repeated Ferret Odor Exposure Induces Different Temporal Patterns of Same-Stressor Habituation and Novel-Stressor Sensitization in Both Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity and Forebrain c-fos Expression in the Rat.
Endocrinology.
749-761.
2009
- Primary Olfactory Areas Mediating Ferret Odor-Induced Stress Responses in Rats. Chemical Senses. S47-S47. 2008
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Conditioned fear inhibits c-fos mRNA expression in the central extended amygdala.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
137-146.
2008
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Acute and chronic effects of ferret odor exposure in Sprague-Dawley rats.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.
1277-1286.
2008
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Regulation of hippocampal alpha(1d) adrenergic receptor mRNA by corticosterone in adrenalectomized rats.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
132-140.
2008
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Long-term habituation to repeated loud noise is impaired by relatively short interstressor intervals in rats.
Behavioral Neuroscience.
210-223.
2008
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Chronic voluntary wheel running facilitates corticosterone response habituation to repeated audiogenic stress exposure in male rats.
Stress.
425-437.
2008
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Expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus after uncontrollable or controllable stress.
Neuroscience.
1219-1228.
2007
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Elevated central monoamine receptor mRNA in rats bred for high endurance capacity: Implications for central fatigue.
Behavioural Brain Research.
132-142.
2006
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Modulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis by caffeine.
Psychoneuroendocrinology.
493-500.
2006
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Non-associative defensive responses of rats to ferret odor.
Physiology and Behavior.
72-81.
2006
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A detailed characterization of loud noise stress: Intensity analysis of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and brain activation.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
63-73.
2005
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Wheel running alters serotonin (5-HT) transporter, 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, and alphal(1b)-adrenergic receptor mRNA in the rat raphe nuclei.
Biological Psychiatry.
559-568.
2005
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Inhibition of the central extended amygdala by loud noise and restraint stress.
European Journal of Neuroscience.
441-454.
2005
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The pattern of brain c-fos mRNA induced by a component of fox odor, 2.5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT), in rats, suggests both systemic and processive stress characteristics.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
139-151.
2004
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Specific down-regulation of glutamate transporter mRNA (EAAT1/GLAST) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus by acute audiogenic stress.
Behavioural Pharmacology.
A10-A11.
2004
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Differential expression of 5HT-1A, alpha(1b) adrenergic, CRF-R1, and CRF-R2 receptor mRNA in serotonergic, gamma-aminobutyric acidergic, and catecholaminergic cells of the rat dorsal raphe nucleus.
Journal of Comparative Neurology.
364-378.
2004
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Acute glucocorticoid pretreatment suppresses stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormone secretion and expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone hnRNA but does not affect c-fos mRNA or fos protein expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus.
Journal of Neuroendocrinology.
1075-1083.
2003
- Freewheel running prevents learned helplessness/behavioral depression: Role of dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons. Journal of Neuroscience. 2889-2898. 2003
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Environmental context and drug history modulate amphetamine-induced C-FOS mRNA expression in the basal ganglia, central extended amygdala and associated limbic forebrain.
Neuroscience.
551-571.
2003
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Voluntary freewheel running selectively modulates catecholamine content in peripheral tissue and c-Fos expression in the central sympathetic circuit following exposure to uncontrollable stress in rats.
Neuroscience.
269-281.
2003
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A 6-Hydroxydopamine lesion of the mesostriatal dopamine system decreases the expression of corticotropin releasing hormone and neurotensin mRNAs in the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
151-159.
2002
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Environmental context modulates the ability of cocaine and amphetamine to induce c-fos mRNA expression in the neocortex, caudate nucleus, and nucleus accumbens.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
106-116.
2001
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Amphetamine and cocaine induce different patterns of c-fos mRNA expression in the striatum and subthalamic nucleus depending on environmental context.
European Journal of Neuroscience.
1977-1983.
2001
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Environmental novelty differentially affects c-fos mRNA expression induced by amphetamine or cocaine in subregions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and amygdala.
Journal of Neuroscience.
732-740.
2001
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Temporal and anatomical distribution of nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression and nitric oxide production during central nervous system inflammation.
Brain research. Brain research protocols.
239-246.
2000
- Expression of alpha(1b) adrenoceptor mRNA in corticotropin-releasing hormone-containing cells of the rat hypothalamus and its regulation by corticosterone. Journal of Neuroscience. 10098-10106. 1999
- Distinct neurochemical populations in the rat central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: Evidence for their selective activation by interleukin-1 beta. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 113-128. 1999
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Environmental modulation of amphetamine-induced c-fos expression in D1 versus D2 striatal neurons.
Behavioural Brain Research.
203-209.
1999
- Evidence that cholecystokinin receptors are not involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response to intraperitoneal administration of interleukin-1 beta. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 561-568. 1999
- Amphetamine-induced behavior, dopamine release, and c-fos mRNA expression: Modulation by environmental novelty. Journal of Neuroscience. 10579-10593. 1998
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Principles of psychoneuroendocrinology.
Psychiatric Clinics of North America.
259-+.
1998
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Distribution of alpha(1a)-, alpha(1b)- and alpha(1d)-adrenergic receptor mRNA in the rat brain and spinal cord.
Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy.
115-139.
1997
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Differential pattern of c-fos mRNA rat brain following central and systemic administration of interleukin-1-beta: Implications for mechanism of action.
Neuroendocrinology.
207-218.
1996
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EVIDENCE THAT CHOLECYSTOKININ INDUCES IMMEDIATE-EARLY GENE-EXPRESSION IN THE BRAIN-STEM, HYPOTHALAMUS AND AMYGDALA OF THE RAT BY A CCKA RECEPTOR MECHANISM.
Neuropharmacology.
719-727.
1994
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Remote CB1 receptor antagonist administration reveals multiple sites of tonic and phasic endocannabinoid neuroendocrine regulation.
Psychoneuroendocrinology.
2020
Teaching
courses taught
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NRSC 2200 - Laboratory Techniques in Neuroscience
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020
Introduces students to many basic and essential laboratory skills in neuroscience research. Students will learn experimental methods and perform experiments depicting principles in neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and the fundamentals of neuroimaging techniques. -
NRSC 4062 - The Neurobiology of Stress
Primary Instructor - Summer 2018 / Fall 2018 / Summer 2019 / Fall 2019
Provides an introduction to the concept of stress and the physiological systems involved. Factors modulating stress vulnerability versus resilience, and stress interactions with other systems with health relevance will be explored. Emphasis will be placed on current research on brain mechanisms. Recommended prerequisite: a strong foundation and interest in biological psychology, neuroscience, and physiology. Formerly PSYC 4062. -
NRSC 4132 - Neuropharmacology
Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020
Study of drug action within the central nervous system. This course is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the neurobiological and neurochemical mechanisms of drug action. Topics covered include the following: 1) principles of pharmacology; 2) brain neurotransmitter systems; 3) biochemical basis of psychiatric disorders and their pharmacological treatment. Same as NRSC 5132.
Background
education and training
- Ph.D., University of Cambridge (England) 1994
- M.Phil., University of Cambridge (England) 1991
- B.Sc., University of Bath (England) 1990