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

Email address: rebec(at)indiana.edu

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 cortico-limbic areas, which have been implicated in basic behavioral processes such as movement and motivation. To assess how these brain systems operate under naturally occurring conditions, we use electrophysiological (single-unit recording and local field potentials) and electrochemical (slow- and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry) techniques to monitor neuronal function during behavior. We also use proteomic techniques to measure the expression of specific brain proteins and their post-translational modification. Our research includes two primary areas of interest: the mechanisms by which drugs of abuse such as cocaine and the amphetamines enhance drug craving and drug seeking, and the neural network dysfunctions underlying Huntington's disease, a fatally inherited neurodegenerative condition. In both lines of research, we are focusing on glutamate, an excitatory amino acid transmitter, as a major driver of the underlying neural changes and as a potential target for the development of improved therapeutics.

Further information on our research programs is available at: www.indiana.edu/~basalgan/.

Representative Publications

Hong, S.L., Barton, S.J., & Rebec, G.V. (2012). Altered neural and behavioral dynamics in Huntington's disease: An entropy conservation approach. PLoS ONE, 7 (1), e30879.

Murphy-Nakhnikian, J.M., Dorner, J.L., Fischer, B.I., Bower-Bir, N.D., & Rebec, G. V. (2012). Abnormal burst patterns of single neurons recorded in the substantia nigra reticulata of behaving 140 CAG Huntington’s disease mice. Neuroscience Letters, 512, 1-5.

Miller, B.R., Dorner, J.L., Bunner, K.D., Gaither, T.W., Klein, E.L., Barton, S. J.,& Rebec, G. V. (2012). Upregulation of GLT1 reverses the deficit in cortically evoked striatal ascorbate efflux in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington’s disease. Journal of Neurochemistry, 121, 629-638.

Fischer-Smith, K. D., Houston, A.C.W., & Rebec, G. V. (2012). Differential effects of cocaine access and withdrawal on GLT1 expression in rat nucleus accumbens core and shell. Neuroscience, 210, 333-339.

Walker, A.G., Ummel, J.R., & Rebec, G.V. (2011). Reduced expression of conditioned fear in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease is related to abnormal activity in prelimbic cortex. Neurobiology of Disease, 43 (2), 379-387.

Wood, D.A., Walker, T.L., & Rebec G.V. (2011). Experience-dependent changes in neuronal processing in the nucleus accumbens shell in a discriminative learning task in differentially housed rats. Brain Research, 1390, 90-98.

Miller, B.R., Dorner, J.L., Gaither, T.W., Klein, E.L., Barton, S.J., & Rebec, G.V. (2011). Dysregulated neuronal activity patterns implicate corticostriatal circuit dysfunction in multiple rodent models of Huntington's disease. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 5:26, 1-10.

Sari, Y., Sakai, M., Weedman J.M., Rebec G.V., & Bell R.L. (2011). Ceftriaxone, a beta-lactam antibiotic, reduces ethanol consumption in alcohol-preferring rats. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 43 (3), 239-246.

Ball, K.T., Wellman, C.L., Miller, B.R., & Rebec, G.V. (2010). Electrophysiological and structural alterations in striatum associated with behavioral sensitization to (±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy) in rats: Role of drug context. Neuroscience, 171, 794-811.

Sari, Y., Prieto, A.L., Barton, S.J., Miller, B.R., & Rebec, G.V. (2010). Ceftriaxone-induced up-regulation of cortical and striatal GLT1 in the R6/2 model of Huntington's disease. Journal of Biomedical Science, 17, 62 (1-5).

Rebec, G.V. (2010). A central role for the periphery in the rapid action of cocaine on brain neurons: focus on "Rapid EEG desynchronization and EMG activation induced by intravenous cocaine in freely moving rats: a peripheral, nondopamine neural triggering." Am J Physiol - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 298 (2,) R283-284.

Miller, B.R., Walker, A.G., Fowler, S.C., von Hörsten, S., Riess, O., Johnson, M.A., & Rebec, G.V. (2010). Dysregulation of coordinated neuronal firing patterns in striatum of freely behaving transgenic rats that model Huntington's disease. Neurobiology of Disease, 37(1), 106-113.

Dorner, J.L, Miller, B.R., Klein, E.L., Murphy-Nakhnikian, A., Andrews, R.L., Barton, S.J., & Rebec, G.V. (2009). Corticostriatal dysfunction underlies diminished striatal ascorbate release in the R6/2 mouse models of Huntington's disease. Brain Research, 1290, 111-120.

Sari, Y, Smith, K.D., Ali, P.K., & Rebec, G.V. (2009). Up-regulation of GLT1 attenuates cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking in rats. Journal of Neuroscience, 29(29), 9239-9243.

Fowler, S.C., Miller, B.R., Gaither, T.W., Johnson, M.A., & Rebec, G.V. (2009). Force-plate quantification of progressive behavioral deficits in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease. Behavioural Brain Research, 202, 130-137.

Ball, K.T., Wellman, C.L., Fortenberry, E., & Rebec, G.V. (2009). Sensitizing regimens of MDMA (Ecstasy) elicit enduring and differential structural alterations in the brain motive circuit. Neuroscience, 60(2), 264-274.

Wood, D.A., & Rebec, G.V. (2009). Environmental enrichment alters neuronal processing in the nucleus accumbens core during appetitive conditioning. Brain Research, 1259, 59-67.

Ball, K.T., & Rebec, G.V. (2008). Electrophysiological and morphological adaptations in cortico-striato-limbic circuitry induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; Ecstasy). In: H. David (Ed.), Nucleus Accumbens: Neurotransmitters and Related Behaviours, (pp. 297-318). Kerala, India: Research Signpost.

Walker, A.G., Miller, B.R., Fritsch, J.N., Barton, S.J., & Rebec, G.V. (2008). Altered information processing in the prefrontal cortex of Huntington's disease mouse models. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(36), 8973-8982.

Miller, B.R., Walker, A.G., Shah, A.S., Barton, S.J., & Rebec, G.V. (2008). Dysregulated information processing by medium-spiny neurons in striatum of freely behaving mouse models of Huntington's disease. Journal of Neurophysiology, 100(4), 2205-2216.