Philip V. Holmes, Ph.D.
- Professor
- Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program
- Ph.D. Brown University, 1992
- Office: Room 616
- Ph: (706) 542-3105
- Fax: (706) 542-3275
- Email: pvholmes {at} uga dt edu
Research Interests
Behavioral Neuropharmacology Laboratory
My research is in the area of Psychopharmacology. My broad interests concern the neurobiological basis of motivation and emotion. More specifically, I am interested in neurochemical systems in the brain that regulate appetitively and aversively motivated behavior, stress responses, and learning. Much of this work has focused on brain noradrenergic systems and coexisting peptides therein.
Previous research in my laboratory has focused on changes in neurotransmitter systems that occur in rodent models of depression. Other studies have examined the neurobiological basis for the comorbidity of depression and drug abuse. My current research program focuses on the neurobiological effects of exercise. This research employs rodent models to study the relationship between exercise-induced regulation of neurotransmitter function and behavior. I am particularly interested in long-term changes in gene expression in the brain caused by exercise. Recent work has focused on the neurochemical basis for the antidepressant effects of exercise. These studies demonstrate that physical activity alters brain levels of neurotransmitters and/or neurotrophic factors that may ameliorate symptoms of depression. Other studies conducted in this laboratory have shown that exercise may enhance learning and memory through a similar mechanism. More recently, we have discovered that exercise exerts neuroprotective effects, and we are currently examining the role of the neurotransmitter galanin in these effects. These findings suggest that the capacity for exercise to prevent the neural degeneration associated with aging, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, or trauma may be mediated by discrete neural systems. We are currently studying the effects of exercise on the prevention of stress-induced relapse in rodent models of addiction.
Selected Publications
Reiss, J.A., Dishman, R.K., Boyd, H., Robinson, J.K., and Holmes, P.V. (2009) Chronic activity wheel running reduces the severity of kainic acid-induced seizures in the rat: Possible role of galanin. Brain Research, 1266, 54-63.
Eisenstein, S.A., Holmes, P.V., and Hohmann, A.G. A (2009) Role for Dysregulation of Endocannabinoid Signaling in Amphetamine Sensitization in the Olfactory Bulbectomized Rat. Synapse, 63, 941-950.
Eisenstein, S.A. and Holmes, P.V. (2007) Chronic and voluntary exercise enhances learning of conditioned place preference to morphine in rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior, 86, 607-615.
Blackshear, A., Yamamoto, M., Anderson, B.J., Holmes, P.V., Lundstrom, L., Langel, U., and Robinson, J.K. (2007) Intracerebroventricular administration of galanin or galanin receptor subtype 1 agonist M617 induces c-Fos activation in central amygdala and dorsomedial hypothalamus. Peptides, 28, 1120-1124.
Holmes, P.V., Yoo, H.S., and Dishman, R.K. (2006) Voluntary exercise and clomipramine treatment elevate prepro-galanin mRNA levels in the locus coeruleus in rats. Neuroscience Letters, 408, 1-4.
Van Hoomissen, J.D., Holmes, P.V., Zellner, A.S., Poudevigne, A.M., and Dishman, R.K. (2004) The effect of B-adrenergic blockade during chronic exercise on contextual fear conditioning and mRNA for galanin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Behavioral Neuroscience, 118, 1378-1390.
Masini, C.V., Holmes, P.V., Freeman, K.G., and Edwards, G.L. (2004) Dopamine overflow is increased in olfactory bulbectomized rats: An in vivo microdialysis study. Physiology and Behavior, 81, 111-119.
Primeaux, S.D., Wilson, M.A., Wilson, S.P., Guth, A.N., Lelutiu, N.B., and Holmes, P.V. (2003) Herpes virus-mediated prepro-enkephalin gene transfer in the ventral striatum mimics behavioral changes produced by olfactory bulbectomy in rats. Brain Research, 988, 43-55.
