Marina Picciotto, PhD
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About
Titles
Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center, of Neuroscience and of Pharmacology
Director Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Psychiatry; Deputy Chair for Basic Science Research, Dept. of Psychiatry; Director, Interdepartmental Neuroscience ProgramBiography
Dr. Picciotto joined the Yale faculty in 1995, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship with Jean-Pierre Changeux in the Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. She earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology at The Rockefeller University in New York City in 1992, where she worked in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience under Paul Greengard. She received a B.S. degree in biological sciences from Stanford University, Stanford, California, in 1985.
Dr. Picciotto was Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Neuroscience until January 2023 and is a member of the ACNP Scientific Council. She is 2023-2024 President of the Society for Neuroscience. She served on the Scientific Council of the National Institute on Drug Abuse from 2010-2014, was Treasurer of the Society for Neuroscience from 2014-2015, and President of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco from 2018-2019. She has been a Handling Editor for the Journal of Neuroscience, the Journal of Nicotine and Tobacco Research, the Journal of Neurochemistry and Neuroscience Letters. In 2000 she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering by President Clinton and in 2012 she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was Chair of the Neuroscience Section from 2018-2019. Dr. Picciotto has been awarded the Human Frontiers 10th Anniversary Award, the Jacob P. Waletzky Award for addiction research and the Bernice Grafstein Mentorship award from the Society for Neuroscience, the Marion Spencer Fay Award from Drexel University, the Langley Award from SRNT, the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for Innovative Research and the Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2024. She is currently the president of the Society for Neuroscience.
Appointments
Psychiatry
ProfessorPrimaryNeuroscience
ProfessorSecondaryPharmacology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC)
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Center for Nicotine and Tobacco Use Research at Yale (CENTURY)
- Connecticut Mental Health Center
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Kavli Institute for Neuroscience
- Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
- Neural Disorders
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Neuroscience Track
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatry
- WHRY Pilot Project Program Investigators
- Women's Health Research at Yale
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science
- Yale Translational Center to Develop Gender-Sensitive Treatment for Tobacco Dependence
Education & Training
- PhD
- Rockefeller University (1992)
- BS
- Stanford University (1985)
- ND
- Hunter College High School (1981)
Research
Overview
Our goal is to understand the role of single molecules in both typical behaviors and those relevant to psychiatric illness. We use molecular genetic, pharmacological and in vivo imaging approaches to link the biochemical, cellular, and anatomical levels of investigation to behavior. A primary focus is the role of acetylcholine signaling in brain development and function.
We also use proteomic approaches to discover signaling molecules downstream of nicotinic receptors that may mediate long-term changes in behavior following receptor activation. Ultimately, integration of studies at the molecular, cellular, and systems levels will be necessary to understand the neurobiological basis for expression and plasticity of complex behaviors.
Current projects include:
- Sex differences in molecules and circuits underlying behaviors relevant to alcohol or nicotine addiction
- Long-range circuits involved in reward enhancement relevant to addiction
- Intracellular signaling pathways involved in the transition to behaviors related to nicotine addiction
- Cholinergic compounds as novel anxiolytics or antidepressants
- Interactions between acetylcholine and GABA signaling in BLA involved in stress-induced alcohol intake: sex differences and role of microglial signaling
- Effects of acetylcholine on brain-body interactions related to contextual tolerance to opiates
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Links & Media
Media
Activity of the VTA-to-VP GABA pathway scales with the value of a primary reward
(A) Heatmap of calcium-dependent fluorescence signals in VTA-to-VP GABA neurons across 5 CRT sessions on consecutive days. Signals were aligned to the time of magazine entry (0 sec). (B) The area under the curve (AUC) of fluorescence signals measured from (A). Upper panel shows the fluorescence change across 5 sessions. Lower panel shows the AUCs calculated from the upper panel curves from 0 – 5 sec (grey area). Each dot represents the averaged AUC of the fluorescence signals measured in one mouse in one session. One-way ANOVA of the signal AUC across 5 sessions: F(4, 30) = 0.034; p = 0.998. N = 7 mice. (C) Heatmap of fluorescence signals in terminals of VTA-to-VP GABA neurons during FR1 responding to different sizes of reward (reward delivery for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 sec). (D) The AUC of fluorescence signals measured from (C). Upper panel shows the fluorescence change in response to different sizes of reward. Lower panel shows the AUCs calculated from the upper panel curves.Acetylcholine (ACh) levels in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) during reward learning
Heatmap of BLA ACh signaling in a mouse across training phases of a reward learning task, aligned to tone onset (Tone), correct nose poke (NP), and receptacle entry (Rec). Each row is the average of rewarded trials across a training session. White dashed horizontal line: first Training day earning 10 rewards. Horizontal white line: acquisition threshold, when a mouse began to earn 20 rewards consistently in Training. Black horizontal lines: divisions between training phases. Black vertical lines: divisions between breaks in time to allow for variable latencies in tone onset, correct nose poke, and receptacle entry (reward retrieval).Localization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) at the level of the striatum and ventral segmental area measured by nicotinic binding in wild type (left), knockout and inducible transgenic mice.
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) measured by nicotinic binding in wild type (left), knockout and inducible transgenic mice. Localized expression of high affinity nAChRs in ventral tegmental neurons (right) is important for normal nicotine-induced locomotor activation.Localization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) at the level of the thalamus and cortex measured by nicotinic binding in wild type (left), knockout and inducible transgenic mice.
Localized expression of high affinity nAChRs in layer 6 corticothalamic neurons (right) is important for normal passive avoidance learning.
News
- April 25, 2024
3 From Yale School of Medicine Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- April 24, 2024
Picciotto Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- April 14, 2024Source: News 12 Connecticut
Yale Doctor Dedicates Research on Nicotine Addiction to Her Father Who Died of Lung Cancer
- January 23, 2024Source: News 12 Connecticut
Antidepressant Can Help Women Stop Smoking