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Ruixiang (Roy) Wang, PhD

Address: 2-400 BSB
Phone: (319) 335-7769
Email: ruixiang-wang@uiowa.edu

Mentor: Catherine Marcinkiewcz, PhD

PhD Institution: University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 2019

Research Description

The role of dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons in psychological/neurological disorders

Awards

  • College of Arts and Science Dissertation Fellowship, University at Buffalo, 2018

  • Runner-up of the Bugelski Dissertation Award, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, 2018

  • Mark Diamond Research Fund Grant Award (FA-17-27), University at Buffalo, 2017-2018

Publications

  1. Wang, R., Martin, C. D., Lei, A. L., Hausknecht, K. A., Turk, M., Micov, V., ... & Shen, R. Y. (2022). Prenatal ethanol exposure impairs sensory processing and habituation to visual stimuli, effects normalized by enrichment of postnatal environment. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 46, 891-906. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14818

  2. Oubraim, S., Wang, R., Hausknecht, K. A., Shen, R. Y., & Haj-Dahmane, S. (2021). Tonic endocannabinoid signaling gates synaptic plasticity in dorsal raphe nucleus serotonin neurons through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 1606. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.691219

  3. Wang, R., Martin, C. D., Lei, A. L., Hausknecht, K. A., Ishiwari, K., Oubraim, S., ... & Shen, R. Y. (2021). Moderate prenatal ethanol exposure leads to attention deficits in both male and female rats. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 45, 1122-1135. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14599

  4. Wang, R., Hausknecht, K. A., Gancarz‐Kausch, A. M., Oubraim, S., Shen, R. Y., & Haj‐Dahmane, S. (2020). Cocaine self‐administration abolishes endocannabinoid‐mediated long‐term depression of glutamatergic synapses in the ventral tegmental area. European Journal of Neuroscience, 52, 4517-4524. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14980

  5. Wang, R., Martin, C. D., Lei, A. L., Hausknecht, K. A., Ishiwari, K., Richards, J. B., ... & Shen, R. Y. (2020). Prenatal ethanol exposure leads to attention deficits in both male and female rats. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00012

  6. Aghaie, C. I., Hausknecht, K. A., Wang, R., Dezfuli, P. H., Haj‐Dahmane, S., Kane, C. J., ... & Shen, R. Y. (2020). Prenatal ethanol exposure and postnatal environmental intervention alter dopaminergic neuron and microglia morphology in the ventral tegmental area during adulthood. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44, 435-444. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14275

  7. Wang, R., Shen, Y. L., Hausknecht, K. A., Chang, L., Haj-Dahmane, S., Vezina, P., & Shen, R. Y. (2019). Prenatal ethanol exposure increases risk of psychostimulant addiction. Behavioural brain research, 356, 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.07.030

  8. Wang, R., Hausknecht, K., Shen, R. Y., & Haj-Dahmane, S. (2018). Potentiation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons in the valproic acid model of autism. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 9, 1185. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.01185

  9. Wang, R., Hausknecht, K. A., Shen, Y. L., Haj-Dahmane, S., Vezina, P., & Shen, R. Y. (2018). Environmental enrichment reverses increased addiction risk caused by prenatal ethanol exposure. Drug and alcohol dependence, 191, 343-347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.07.013

  10. Wang, R., Hausknecht, K. A., Haj-Dahmane, S., Shen, R.-Y., & Richards, J. B. (2018). Decreased environmental complexity during development impairs habituation of reinforcer effectiveness of sensory stimuli. Behavioural Brain Research, 337, 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2017.09.032

  11. Hausknecht, K. A., Shen, Y. L., Wang, R., Haj-Dahmane, S., & Shen, R.-Y. (2017). Prenatal ethanol exposure persistently alters endocannabinoid signaling and endocannabinoid-mediated excitatory synaptic plasticity in ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 37, 5798-5808. doi: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3894-16.2017