Trinity Russell, B.A.
“Volitional social interaction prevents drug addiction in rat models”
Prevention and treatment of addiction have not been appreciably improved by neuroscientific research. One problem is that mechanistic circuit- or molecular-related studies using rodent models do not incorporate social factors, which, for humans, play a critical role in addiction. Recently, we introduce an operant model of social choice in rats and demonstrate the profound impact of an alternative social reward on drug self-administration and relapse.
.
Postbac info: Trinity attended Wesleyan University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior. Her thesis focused on the effects of nicotine exposure and anxiety on motivation for cues. Trinity is currently pursuing her scientific interests on drug addiction at the National Institute on Drug abuse. She works with Marco Venniro, a postdoc in the Shaham lab, where she studies the effects of volitional social interaction on drug addiction in rat models, and the neuronal mechanisms that underlie this process. Trinity is planning to continue her scientific career in the future as a soon-to-be medical student!
