I received my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology in 1980 at Iowa State University under the supervision of Dr. Richard Hughes. My dissertation investigated the development of tolerance to morphine in infant rats. From 1980-82, I worked as a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Iowa under the supervision of Dr. Gerald Gebhart. Since 1982, I have been in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. I presently serve as Director of the NIDA-funded Center for Drug Abuse Research Translation (CDART).

Our laboratory is primarily interested in understanding the basic neuropharmacological mechanisms that underlie drug abuse vulnerability using laboratory animals. A major focus of our work is aimed at determining the impact of environmental factors during development on the behavioral effects of drugs of abuse. Neural correlates of the behavioral changes are being examined, with specific emphasis on the mesolimbic dopamine reward system. Our laboratory is also involved in collaborative research to develop novel medications for the treatment of stimulant abuse.

Students trained my laboratory are exposed to a variety of behavioral, pharmacological and neuroscience techniques. Behavioral training is obtained in both operant and classical conditioning models. Students can also receive training in various neuropharmacological techniques, including small animal surgery, brain microinjections, and HPLC analysis of neurochemicals. Further specialized training in neuropharmacology, neurochemistry and/or human behavioral pharmacology is readily available through my active faculty collaborators in the Medical Center on campus.

For more information on my research and teaching, click here.

• Cain, M. E., Saucier, D. A., and Bardo, M. T. (2005). Novelty seeking and drug use: Contribution of an animal model. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 13, 367-375.
• Champtiaux, N., Kalivas, P. W., and Bardo, M. T. (2006). Contribution of dihydro-beta-erythroidine sensitive nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the ventral tegmental area to cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization in rats. Behavioral Brain Research, 168, 120-126.
• Neugebauer, N. M., Zhang, Z., Crooks, P. A., Dwoskin, L. P. and Bardo, M. T. (2006). Effect of a novel nicotinic receptor antagonist, N,N'-dodecane-1, 12-diyl-bis-3-picolinium dibromide (bPiDDB), on nicotine self-administration and hyperactivity in rats. Psychopharmacology, 184, 426-434.

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