Summer L Thompson, PhD, MS
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Associate Research Scientist
Biography
Dr. Thompson’s research investigates integrative mechanisms underlying environmental influences on reward-related behaviors that are altered in neuropsychiatric conditions. She earned her PhD in 2017 in Neurobiology from the University Chicago, where she trained under Dr. Stephanie Dulawa. Her graduate work used models of compulsive-like behavior to investigate mechanisms and therapeutic targets. She received a travel award for this work. She then accepted a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Jane Taylor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University where she received training in operant and computational modeling approaches for the study of reward-driven behaviors that are altered in neuropsychiatric conditions including compulsive disorders and alcohol use.
In 2021, Dr. Thompson was promoted to Associate Research Scientist at Yale. She was then awarded a pathway to independence career development award from NIAAA (K99/R00) to study the role of the gut microbiota in alcohol use behaviors and decision making under the co-mentorship of Dr. Taylor and Dr. Noah Palm (Department of Immunobiology). She has received several additional awards for her work, including pilot awards from the Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism and from the Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Core. Her ongoing and future research focus on the mediating role of the gut in environmental influences on reward-driven behaviors by integrating sophisticated behavioral paradigms, computational modeling and statistical analyses, and multi-organ molecular biology techniques including "omics" and bioinformatics.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Research ScientistPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- PhD
- The University of Chicago, Neurobiology (2017)
- Visiting Graduate Student
- University of California San Diego (2017)
- MS
- The University of Chicago, Molecular Pathogenesis and Molecular Medicine (2014)
- BA
- Pomona College, Neuroscience (2011)
Research
Overview
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
ORCID
0000-0003-1922-1201
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Jane Rebecca Taylor, PhD
Stephanie Groman, PhD
Jeanette Tetrault, MD, FACP, FASAM
John Krystal, MD
Julia Shi, MD, FACP
Kelly S. DeMartini, PhD
Compulsive Behavior
Decision Making
Publications
Featured Publications
Lesions to the mediodorsal thalamus, but not orbitofrontal cortex, enhance volatility beliefs linked to paranoia
Suthaharan P, Thompson S, Rossi-Goldthorpe R, Rudebeck P, Walton M, Chakraborty S, Noonan M, Costa V, Murray E, Mathys C, Groman S, Mitchell A, Taylor J, Corlett P, Chang S. Lesions to the mediodorsal thalamus, but not orbitofrontal cortex, enhance volatility beliefs linked to paranoia. Cell Reports 2024, 43: 114355. PMID: 38870010, PMCID: PMC11231991, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114355.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsOrbitofrontal cortexMediodorsal thalamusReward learning rateAssociated with paranoiaExcitotoxic lesionsBrain regionsUnoperated monkeysAction selectionAdaptive behaviorParanoiaBelief updatingMDmcMeaningful changeCortexThalamusBeliefsLearning rateRobust to variabilityCompare performanceRewardBehaviorBrainMonkeysAction policiesPerceptionKetogenic diet enhances the effects of oxycodone in mice
Trinko R, Diaz D, Foscue E, Thompson S, Taylor J, DiLeone R. Ketogenic diet enhances the effects of oxycodone in mice. Scientific Reports 2023, 13: 7507. PMID: 37160959, PMCID: PMC10170077, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33458-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsOpioid use disorderKetogenic dietKD miceUse disordersTreatment of OUDEffects of KDEffects of oxycodoneClinical pain managementAlcohol use disorderProgressive ratio scheduleSex-specific effectsChronic oxycodoneLess oxycodoneOpioid withdrawalAntinociceptive effectPain managementPrescription opioidsSide effectsOxycodoneLocomotor activityTherapeutic potentialOpioidsDietary effectsOpiate sensitivityMiceReinforcement learning detuned in addiction: integrative and translational approaches
Groman SM, Thompson SL, Lee D, Taylor JR. Reinforcement learning detuned in addiction: integrative and translational approaches. Trends In Neurosciences 2021, 45: 96-105. PMID: 34920884, PMCID: PMC8770604, DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.11.007.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDecision-making deficitsPathophysiology of addictionDecision-making strategiesBiobehavioral mechanismsAddictionReinforcement learningDecision-making processDrug useTranslational approachComputational componentsDeficitsLearningDifferent componentsBiological mechanismsOutcomesFindingsRecent studiesBehaviorStudyMPEP Lowers Binge Drinking in Male and Female C57BL/6 Mice: Relationship with mGlu5/Homer2/Erk2 Signaling
Huang G, Thompson SL, Taylor JR. MPEP Lowers Binge Drinking in Male and Female C57BL/6 Mice: Relationship with mGlu5/Homer2/Erk2 Signaling. Alcohol Clinical And Experimental Research 2021, 45: 732-742. PMID: 33587295, PMCID: PMC8076072, DOI: 10.1111/acer.14576.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsMeSH KeywordsAnimalsBinge DrinkingDose-Response Relationship, DrugDrug Evaluation, PreclinicalExcitatory Amino Acid AntagonistsFemaleHomer Scaffolding ProteinsMaleMAP Kinase Signaling SystemMice, Inbred C57BLMitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1Nucleus AccumbensPyridinesReceptor, Metabotropic Glutamate 5Septal NucleiSex CharacteristicsConceptsEffects of MPEPFemale C57BL/6 miceAlcohol intakeAlcohol consumptionNegative allosteric modulatorsLocomotor activityC57BL/6 miceFemale miceMale miceHomer2 expressionBinge drinkingMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5MGlu5 negative allosteric modulatorsSex differencesBinge alcohol consumptionGlutamate receptor 5Dose-response effectExcessive alcohol useERK2 expressionDose-response relationshipPotential sex differencesERK2 signalingBed nucleusNucleus accumbensStria terminalisKetamine induces immediate and delayed alterations of OCD-like behavior
Thompson SL, Welch AC, Iourinets J, Dulawa SC. Ketamine induces immediate and delayed alterations of OCD-like behavior. Psychopharmacology 2020, 237: 627-638. PMID: 31927606, DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05397-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsOCD-like behaviorPrepulse inhibitionTherapeutic effectH postinjectionNoncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonistOCD patientsAnti-OCD effectsRationaleObsessive-compulsive disorderNMDA receptor antagonistRapid therapeutic effectPretreatment time pointsAcute ketaminePharmacological monotherapyKetamine pretreatmentKetamine treatmentPPI deficitsReuptake inhibitorsReceptor antagonistLow doseMin postinjectionPsychiatric disordersDelayed alterationsResponse rateHigh dosesKetamineBtbd3 expression regulates compulsive-like and exploratory behaviors in mice
Thompson SL, Welch AC, Ho EV, Bessa JM, Portugal-Nunes C, Morais M, Young JW, Knowles JA, Dulawa SC. Btbd3 expression regulates compulsive-like and exploratory behaviors in mice. Translational Psychiatry 2019, 9: 222. PMID: 31501410, PMCID: PMC6733800, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0558-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsObsessive-compulsive disorderKnockout miceCompulsive-like behaviorLimbic cortico-striatoExploratory behaviorThalamo-cortical circuitsMarble-burying testPrimary sensory cortexNeural circuit formationDendritic morphologyImpaired goal-directed behaviorAnterior cingulate cortexGoal-directed behaviorChronic treatmentSpine densityCortico-striatoMediodorsal thalamusDendritic pruningSensory cortexNeonatal developmentAnterior cingulateCingulate cortexCircuit formationPotential risk genesMiceDissecting the roles of β-arrestin2 and GSK-3 signaling in 5-HT1BR-mediated perseverative behavior and prepulse inhibition deficits in mice
Thompson SL, Dulawa SC. Dissecting the roles of β-arrestin2 and GSK-3 signaling in 5-HT1BR-mediated perseverative behavior and prepulse inhibition deficits in mice. PLOS ONE 2019, 14: e0211239. PMID: 30721232, PMCID: PMC6363181, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211239.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPPI deficitsObsessive-compulsive disorderGSK-3 inhibitionΒ-arrestin2Perseverative behaviorInhibitory G protein-coupled receptorsGSK-3 inhibitorsPerseverative locomotor patternsG protein-coupled pathwaySerotonin 1B receptorG protein-coupled receptorsAcute pretreatmentAutism spectrum disorderAcute treatmentKO miceReceptor agonistOpen fieldKnockout miceBehavioral testingBiased ligandsReduced locomotionMiceGSK-3βInhibition deficitsModest reduction
2023
Mice lacking Ptprd exhibit deficits in goal-directed behavior and female-specific impairments in sensorimotor gating
Ho E, Welch A, Thompson S, Knowles J, Dulawa S. Mice lacking Ptprd exhibit deficits in goal-directed behavior and female-specific impairments in sensorimotor gating. PLOS ONE 2023, 18: e0277446. PMID: 37205689, PMCID: PMC10198499, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277446.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsProtein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type DGenome-wide association studiesProtein tyrosine phosphatase familyTyrosine phosphatase familyReceptor type DPhosphatase familyAssociation studiesGenetic studiesCell adhesionPTPRDNest-building behaviorEffect of genotypeSynaptic specificationNeuropsychiatric phenotypesTraitsConstitutive lackKnockout miceKO miceGatingLociBuilding behaviorMicePhenotype
2022
Targeted effects of ketamine on perceptual expectation during mediated learning in rats
Fleming LM, Jaynes FB, Thompson SL, Corlett PR, Taylor JR. Targeted effects of ketamine on perceptual expectation during mediated learning in rats. Psychopharmacology 2022, 239: 2395-2405. PMID: 35389087, PMCID: PMC9296571, DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06128-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPerceptual expectationsHallucination-like experiencesMemory representationsExpected cueDevaluation phasePerceptual experienceNeural correlatesAssociative learningLearning taskTask phasesExternal outcomesDirect learningLearningEffects of ketamineExpectationsRetrievalConclusionsThese resultsModerate dosePerceptCausal relationshipCuesExperienceRepresentationTaskRecent work
2021
Saracatinib Fails to Reduce Alcohol-Seeking and Consumption in Mice and Human Participants
Thompson SL, Gianessi CA, O'Malley SS, Cavallo DA, Shi JM, Tetrault JM, DeMartini KS, Gueorguieva R, Pittman B, Krystal JH, Taylor JR, Krishnan-Sarin S. Saracatinib Fails to Reduce Alcohol-Seeking and Consumption in Mice and Human Participants. Frontiers In Psychiatry 2021, 12: 709559. PMID: 34531767, PMCID: PMC8438169, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.709559.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsNMDA receptorsSrc/FynAlcohol consumptionEffect of saracatinibVehicle 2 hChronic alcohol useDays of treatmentDSM-IV criteriaMore effective treatmentsNumber of drinksGlutamatergic systemAdditional drinkAlcohol drinkingAdditional dosesEthanol exposureEffective treatmentNR2B subunitAlcohol abuseHuman studiesPriming drinkAlcohol cravingSaracatinibDrinking paradigmNovel pharmacotherapeuticsHuman participants
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