Ph.D
2005 City University of New York

M.A.
2000 California State University, San Bernardino

B.A.
1998 California State University, San Bernardino

 

The use of drugs of abuse during development can lead to a greater propensity to drug addiction in adulthood. Therefore, in order to understand the changes that occur in the developing brain, my research investigates animal models of opiate and psychostimulant addiction across different developmental stages (neonatal, adolescence and adulthood) by using behavioral, pharmacological and cell biological approaches.

A second research theme in my laboratory is to study nociceptive processing as it pertains to the underlying mechanisms of opiate tolerance at the level of the brain and the spinal cord.

Nazarian, A., Gu, G., Gracias, N.G., Wilkinson, K., Hua, X-Y., Vasko, M.R., Yaksh, T.L. (2008). Spinal N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptors and nociception-evoked release of primary afferent substance p. Neuroscience, 152, 119-127.

Jenab, S., Festa, E.D., Nazarian, A., Wu, H.B., Sun, W.L., Hazim, R., Russo, S. J., Quinones-Jenab, V. (2005). Cocaine induction of ERK proteins in dorsal striatum of Fisher rats. Molecular Brain Research, 142, 134-138

Nazarian, A., Russo, S.J., Festa, E.D., Kraish, M., Quinones-Jenab, V. (2004). The role of D1 and D2 receptors in the cocaine conditioned place preference of male and female rats. Brain Research Bulletin, 63, 295-299.

Nazarian, A., Krall, C.M., Osburn, J.R., McDougall, S.A. (2001). Ultrasonic vocalizations of preweanling rats: involvement of both a2-adrenoceptor and ?-opioid receptor systems. European Journal of Pharmacology, 415, 165-171.

Nazarian, A., Rodarte-Freeman, A.L., McDougall, S.A. (1999). Dopaminergic modulation of kappa opioid-mediated ultrasonic vocalization, antinociception, and locomotor activity in the preweanling rat. Behavioral Neuroscience, 113, 816-825.