My research focuses on understanding how the brain processes reward, anxiety, and aversion, with the goal of identifying mechanisms that drive motivated behavior and contribute to substance use disorders. I am particularly interested in how specific neural systems can be targeted to develop more effective substance use disorder treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, a major focus of the lab is on glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists such as semaglutide (Ozempic)<\/strong>. These drugs were originally developed to treat type II diabetes and obesity. However, a growing body of literature demonstrates that GLP-1R agonists reduce craving and drug-seeking behavior and modulate brain circuits involved in aversion and anxiety during substance use<\/strong>. My research explores how GLP-1R agonists influence these systems to affect both the rewarding and aversive aspects of substance use and ultimately decrease relapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Projects in the lab aim to characterize the efficacy of these treatments in reducing nicotine and opioid withdrawal-related behaviors, examine sex differences in treatment response, <\/strong>and directly compare the behavioral and neural effects of different GLP-1R agonists.<\/strong> By studying how these drugs interact with specific brain regions involved in reward and aversion, my lab aims to inform the development of new, evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders and related neuropsychiatric conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interested in Joining the Lab?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Undergraduate student researchers explore original questions about the brain and behavior in my lab. Students can participate as research assistants, pursue independent research for course credit, and\/or complete senior projects. If you’re interested in joining the lab, feel free to contact me about research opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My research focuses on understanding how the brain processes reward, anxiety, and aversion, with the goal of identifying mechanisms that drive motivated behavior and contribute to substance use disorders. I am particularly interested in how specific neural systems can be targeted to develop more effective substance use disorder treatments. Currently, a major focus of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2310,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56\/revisions\/57"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/herman-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}