George V. Rebec

A.B., Villanova University, 1971
M.A., University of Colorado, 1974
Ph.D., University of Colorado, 1975
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at San Diego

Research Interests

Research in my laboratory focuses on the neurochemical correlates of behavior. We are especially interested in the neurochemistry of the basal ganglia and related limbic nuclei, which have been implicated in addiction as well as basic behavioral processes such as movement and motivation. These same circuits also are vulnerable to damage and disease. To assess how these brain systems operate under naturally occurring conditions, we use electrophysiological (single-unit recording and iontophoresis), electrochemical (slow- and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry), and an array of genomic and proteomic techniques to measure neurotransmitter function at the neuronal level during behavior. A primary area of interest is the change in neuronal information processing induced by psychostimulants such as cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), and amphetamine. We have a long-standing program aimed at investigating the role of dopamine and other monoamine modulators in addiction and relapse. Another primary focus is the neural network dysfunction underlying Huntington’s disease, an autosomal dominant and fatal neurodegenerative condition. Our research has identified a deficit in ascorbate, an antioxidant vitamin that not only plays a critical role in basal ganglia function but also regulates the removal of glutamate, an excitatory amino acid transmitter. An ascorbate-glutamate imbalance may underlie the dysregulation of neuronal activity and behavior associated with Huntington’s and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases. Further information on our research programs are available at: www.indiana.edu/~basalgan/

Representative Publications

Rebec, G.V. and Wang, Z. (2001). Behavioral activation in rats require endogenous ascorbate release in striatum. Journal of Neuroscience, 21: 668-675.

Rebec, G.V., Barton, S.J., and Ennis, M.D. (2002). Dysregulation of ascorbate in the striatum of behaving mice expressing the Huntington’s disease gene. Journal of Neuroscience, 22: RC202 (1-5).

Garris, P.A. and Rebec, G.V. (2002). Modeling fast dopamine neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens during behavior. Behavioural Brain Research, 137: 47-63.

Sun, W.L. and Rebec, G.V. (2003). Lidocaine inactivation of ventral subiculum attenuates cocaine-seeking behavior in rats. Journal of Neuroscience, 23: 10258-10264.

Sun, W.L. and Rebec, G.V. (2005). The role of prefrontal cortex D1-lik,e and D2-like receptors in cocaine-seeking behavior in rats. Psychopharmacology, 177: 315-323.

Rebec, G.V., Witowski, S.R., Sandstrom, M.I., Rostand, R.D., and Kennedy, R.T. (2005). Extracellular ascorbate modulates cortically evoked glutamate dynamics in rat striatum. Neuroscience Letters, 378: 166-170.

Wood, D.A., Buse, J.E., Wellman, C.L., and Rebec, G. V. (2005). Differential environmental exposure alters NMDA but not AMPA receptor subunit expression in nucleus accumbens core and shell. Brain Research, 1042: 176-183.

Sun, W.L., Akins, C.K., Mattingly, A.E., and Rebec, G.V. (2005). Ionotropic glutamate receptors in the ventral tegmental area regulate cocaine-seeking behavior in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology,30: 2073-2081.

Rebec, G.V. and Sun, W.L. (2005). Neuronal substrates of relapse to cocaine-seeking behavior: role of prefrontal cortex. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 84(3): 653-666.

Rebec, G.V., Conroy, S.K., Barton, S.J. (2006). Hyperactive striatal neurons in symptomatic Huntington R6/2 mice: Variations with behavioral state and repeated ascorbate treatment. Neuroscience, 137: 327-336.

Wood, D.A., Siegel, A.K., and Rebec, G.V. (2006). Environmental enrichment reduces impulsivity during appetitive conditioning. Physiology and Behavior, 88(1-2): 132-137.

Ball, K.T., Budreau, D., and Rebec, G.V. (2006). Context-dependent behavioral and neuronal sensitization in striatum to MDMA (ecstasy) administration in rats. European Journal of Neuroscience, 24: 217-228.

Sun, W.L. and Rebec, G.V. (2006). Repeated cocaine self-administration alters processing of cocaine-related information in rat prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 26: 8004-8008.

Rebec, G.V. (2006). Behavioral electrophysiology of psychostimulants. Neuropsychopharmacology, 31 (11): 2341-2348.

Rebec, G.V. (2007). From interferant anion to neuromodulator: ascorbate oxidizes its way to respectability. In: Electrochemical Methods in Neuroscience, Taylor & Francis Group, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Dorner, J.L., Miller, B.R., Barton, S.J., Brock, Tyler J., and Rebec, G.V. (2007). Sex differences in behavior and striatal ascorbate release in the 140 CAG knock-in mouse model of Huntington’s disease. Behavioural Brain Research, 178: 90-97.

Teagarden, M.A. and Rebec, G.V. (2007). Subthalamic and striatal neurons concurrently process motor, limbic, and associative information in rats performing an operant task. Journal of Neurophysiology, 97: i>2042-2058.

Sandstrom, M.I. and Rebec, G.V. (2007). Extracellular ascorbate modulates glutamate dynamics: role of behavioral activation. BMC Neuroscience, 8: 32.

Ball, K.T., Walsh, K.M., and Rebec, G.V. (2007). Reinstatement of MDMA (ecstasy) seeking by exposure to drug-conditioned cues. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. [Epub ahead of print - available online at www.sciencedirect.com ].