Major Areas: Translational pharmacology; signal transduction and associative learning mechanisms relevant to stress, addiction, PTSD, and schizophrenia

Previous Positions
Postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health
Assistant Professor, University of California San Francisco
Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati

Education
B.S. Princeton University
M.D. Stanford, NYU (internship), Yale (residency)

Research Interests
Our research evaluates promising neuroscience pharmacotherapies using a variety of techniques (i.e. radioreceptor binding, immunohistochemistry, western blots, microdialysis, and behavioral models (i.e. plus maze, reconsolidation of incentive motivational learning and self administration)). The goal is an incremental model of hypothesis testing from "bench to bedside" culminating in Phase II trials of novel non-dopaminergic antipsychotic, affective and addiction treatments.

Selected Recent Publications

Tolliver BK, Ho LB, Fox LM, Berger SP (1999) Necessary role for ventral tegmental adenylate cyclase and protein Kinase A in induction of behavioral sensitization to intraventral tegmental area amphetamine. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 289: 38-47.

Reid MS, Fox L, Ho LB, and Berger SP (2000) Nicotine stimulation of extracellular glutamate levels in the nucleus accumbens: neuropharmacological characterization. Synapse 35: 129-136.

Reid MS, Ho LB, Hsu K, Fox L, Tolliver BK, Adams JU, Fanco A, Berger SP (2002) Evidence for the involvement of cyclooxygenase activity in the development of cocaine sensitization. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 71:37-54.

Richtand NM, Pritchard LM, Logue AD, Hayes S, Welge JA, Berger SP (2003) Altered behavioral response to dopamine D3 receptor agonists 7-OH-DPAT and PD 128907 following repetitive amphetamine administration. Neuropsychopharmacology 28(8):1422-32.

Harris DS, Batki S, Berger SP (2004) Fluoxetine attenuates adrenocortical but not subjective responses to cocaine cues. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse Nov;30(4):765-82.

Berger SP, Winhusen TM, Somoza EC, Harrer JM, Mezinskis JP, Leidrman DB, Montgomery MA, Goldsmith RJ, Bloch DA, Singal BM, Elkashef A (2005) A medication screening trial evaluation of reserprine, gabapentin and lamotrigine pharmacotherapy of cocaine dependence. Addiction 100 Suppl 1:58-67.