Dr. Mohamed Kabbaj

Research Interest

Stress and Drug Addiction

Current Projects

Dr. Kabbaj focuses his research on the brain basis of emotional behavior. Simply put, Dr. Kabbaj is asking: What is it in our brains that make us different from each other in the way we react emotionally? Why are some of us very prone to stress and others not? Why are some willing to take risks and try new adventures, while others are timid and fearful? Why are some prone to becoming addicted to harmful drugs (such as cocaine or heroin), while others readily avoid them? The basis of these differences is in our genes, in our brains, but also in our environment, the way we develop and the way we interact with others around us. Dr. Kabbaj will work on an excellent animal model for asking, and answering, these complex questions. Dr. Kabbaj has already made some discoveries on the brain basis of these differences in emotionality. Moreover, the work addresses questions of great importance to psychiatric disorders, including depression, and substance abuse.

Publications

• Singh RK, Kabbaj MH, Paik J, Gunjan A. Histone levels are regulated by phosphorylation and ubiquitylation-dependent proteolysis. Nat Cell Biol. 11(8):925-33. (2009)
• Tyl B, Kabbaj M, Fassi B, De Jode P, Wheeler W. Comparison of semiautomated and fully automated methods for QT measurement during a thorough QT/QTc study: variability and sample size considerations. J Clin Pharmacol. 49(8):905-15. (2009)
• Renthal W, Kumar A, Xiao G, Wilkinson M, Covington HE 3rd, Maze I, Sikder D, Robison AJ, LaPlant Q, Dietz DM, Russo SJ, Vialou V, Chakravarty S, Kodadek TJ, Stack A, Kabbaj M, Nestler EJ. Genome-wide analysis of chromatin regulation by cocaine reveals a role for sirtuins. Neuron. 62(3):335-48. (2009)
• Dietz DM, Dietz KC, Moore S, Ouimet CC, Kabbaj M. Repeated social defeat stress-induced sensitization to the locomotor activating effects of d-amphetamine: role of individual differences. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 198(1):51-62. (2008)
• Kabbaj M, Isgor C. Effects of chronic environmental and social stimuli during adolescence on mesolimbic dopaminergic circuitry markers. Neurosci Lett. 422(1):7-12. (2007)
• Kabbaj M, Morley-Fletcher S, Le Moal M, Maccari S. Individual differences in the effects of chronic prazosin hydrochloride treatment on hippocampal mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors. Eur J Neurosci. 25(11):3312-8. (2007)
• Dietz D, Wang H, Kabbaj M. Corticosterone fails to produce conditioned place preference or conditioned place aversion in rats. Behav Brain Res. 181(2):287-91. (2007)
• Clinton SM, Vázquez DM, Kabbaj M, Kabbaj MH, Watson SJ, Akil H. Individual differences in novelty-seeking and emotional reactivity correlate with variation in maternal behavior. Horm Behav. 51(5):655-64. (2007)
• Kabbaj M. Individual differences in vulnerability to drug abuse: the high responders/low responders model. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 5(5):513-20. (2006)
• Dietz DM, Tapocik J, Gaval-Cruz M, Kabbaj M. Dopamine transporter, but not tyrosine hydroxylase, may be implicated in determining individual differences in behavioral sensitization to amphetamine. Physiol Behav. 86(3):347-55. (2005)
• Kabbaj M, Vachon P, Varin F. Impact of peripheral elimination on the concentration-effect relationship of remifentanil in anaesthetized dogs. Br J Anaesth. 94(3):357-65. (2005)
• Kabbaj M, Evans S, Watson SJ, Akil H. The search for the neurobiological basis of vulnerability to drug abuse: using microarrays to investigate the role of stress and individual differences. Neuropharmacology. 47 Suppl 1:111-22. (2004)
• Isgor C, Kabbaj M, Akil H, Watson SJ. Delayed effects of chronic variable stress during peripubertal-juvenile period on hippocampal morphology and on cognitive and stress axis functions in rats. Hippocampus. 14(5):636-48. (2004)
• Kabbaj M. Neurobiological bases of individual differences in emotional and stress responsiveness: high responders-low responders model. Arch Neurol. 61(7):1009-12. (2004)
• Neal CR Jr, Weidemann G, Kabbaj M, Vázquez DM. Effect of neonatal dexamethasone exposure on growth and neurological development in the adult rat. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 287(2):R375-85. (2004)