Scott Philibin
Postdoctoral Fellow
Major Areas
Behavioral genetics of ethanol withdrawal - induced anxiety
Education
BS (2000) Virginia Commonwealth University
MS (2003) Virginia Commonwealth University
PhD (2006) Virginia Commonwealth University
Research Interests
The main objective of my research is to characterize the effects of ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety in the mouse. Alcohol dependence is characterized by withdrawal symptoms that include altered physiological function (e.g., altered neuronal pathways) and enhanced negative affect (e.g., anxiety). The negative affective states associated with alcohol withdrawal are thought to be a major contributor to relapse. There is increasing evidence that expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene and the distribution of the Y1 receptor subtype in amygdaloid structures are crucial for ethanol (EtOH) withdrawal-induced anxiety. The focus of my studies is to characterize selectively bred mouse lines in tests of anxiety-related behaviors that may be associated with decreased levels of NPY and subsequent upregulation of the Y1 receptor subtype in specific amygdaloid regions.
We predict that this information will help increase our understanding of genetic influences on alcohol dependence and the potential role of the target genes of NPY as new therapeutics for the treatment of anxiety related to alcohol withdrawal.
My background is in behavioral pharmacology. My primary interest was in the development of preclinical models as potential screening tools that differentiate between various atypical and typical antipsychotic drugs based on in vivo mechanism(s) of action in mice and rats. Operant procedures, simple behavioral measures and cognitive models are used to characterize the differential effects of antipsychotic drugs. I was also involved in the study of the rewarding and discriminative stimulus effects of nicotine, the effect of genetic background (e.g., different inbred rat strains) and the functional activity of nAChRs. I held a part-time position in a non-human primate laboratory that concentrates on self-administration and drug discrimination with various drugs of abuse (e.g., cocaine, PCP, heroin) in male and female rhesus macaques. I have worked in a laboratory characterizing the effect of traumatic brain injury in the Morris water-maze, the rotorod, beam balance and beam walk to measure spatial learning and memory, vestibulomotor functioning and fine motor coordination.
Professional Organizational Affiliations
Society for Neuroscience (SfN, 1999 - present)
Society for the Stimulus Properties of Drugs (SSPD, 2000 - present)
European Behavioural Pharmacological Society (EBPS, 2003 - present)
Selected Publications
Philibin SD , Walentiny DM, Prus AJ, Meltzer HY and Porter JH (In Prep) Clozapine drug discrimination in C57BL/6 mice detects antipsychotic agents based on serotonergic or adrenergic antagonist actions.
Porter JH, Philibin SD and Walentiny DM (In Prep) The clozapine metabolite N-desmethylclozapine potentiates the discriminative stimulus cue of clozapine in C57BL/6 mice.
James JR, Pehrson AL, Philibin SD , Gross D, Robinson SE, Vann RE and Rosecrans JA (In Prep) The effects of acute and chronic dosing on spontaneous activity in Sprague Dawley male and female rats: analysis of brain area epibatadine binding and cotinine levels.
Philibin SD , Pehrson AL, Carter SM, Vann RE and Porter JH (Submitted) Assessment of the paw test procedure in C57BL/6 mice for testing the therapeutic and extrapyramidal motor effects of antipsychotic drugs. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
Vann RE, Rosecrans JA, James JR, Philibin SD and Robinson SE. (Submitted) Behavioral and neurochemical effects of bupropion and mecamylamine in the presence of nicotine Psychopharmacology (Berl)
Prus AJ, Philibin SD , Pehrson AL and Porter JH (2006) The discriminative stimulus properties of the typical antipsychotic drug clozapine in rats trained to discriminate 1.25 mg/kg clozapine vs. 5.0 mg/kg clozapine vs. vehicle in a three-choice drug discrimination task. Behavioural Pharmacology 17(2):185-94.
Prus AJ, Philibin SD , Pehrson AL, Stephens CL, Cooper RN, Wise LE and Porter JH (2005) Generalization testing with atypical and typical antipsychotic drugs in rats trained to discriminate 5.0 mg/kg clozapine from vehicle in a two-choice drug discrimination task. Drug Development Research 64 (1): 55-65
Prus AJ, Philibin SD , Pehrson AL, Cooper RN and Porter JH (2005) Generalization to atypical antipsychotic drugs depends on training dose in rats trained to discriminate 1.25 mg/kg clozapine vs. 5.0 mg/kg clozapine vs. vehicle in a three-choice drug discrimination task. Behavioural Pharmacology 16:511-520
Robinson SE, James JR, Lapp LN, Vann RE, Gross DF, Philibin SD and Rosecrans JA (2005) Evidence of Cellular Nicotine Receptor Desensitization in Rats Exhibiting Nicotine-Induced Acute Tolerance. Psychopharmacology (Berl) Jul 12:1-8
Philibin SD , Pehrson AL, Prus AJ and Porter JH (2005) Serotonin mechanisms mediate the discriminative stimulus properties of the atypical antipsychotic clozapine in C57BL/6 mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl). Jun;180 (1):49-56
Philibin SD , Vann RE, Varvel SA, Covington, III HE, Rosecrans JA, James JR and Robinson SE (2005) Differential behavioral responses to nicotine in Lewis and Fischer-344 rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior.Jan;80(1):87-92
Varvel SA, Vann RE, Wise LE, Philibin SD and Porter JH (2002) Effects of antipsychotic drugs on operant responding after acute and repeated administration. Psychopharmacology (Berl) Mar;160(2):182-91
Porter JH, Varvel SA, Vann RE, Philibin SD and Wise LE (2000) Clozapine discrimination with a low training dose distinguishes atypical from typical antipsychotic drugs in rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) Apr 149, 189-193
