Patrick Rothwell, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Summary
Patrick Rothwell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. His research lab investigates the synaptic organization and behavioral function of basal ganglia circuits in health and disease. His interests include regulation of these circuits by endogenous opioid signaling, as well as the detrimental effects of chronic exposure to exogenous opioids, with a broad goal of reducing the abuse liability of opioid-based clinical therapies.
Research
Research Summary/Interests
Modulation of striatal circuits in health and disease
Brain disorders and mental illness represent a tremendous social and economic burden, with few effective treatments. The goal of our research is to identify the causes of brain conditions, and develop interventions to restore healthy function using synaptic plasticity and neuromodulation. We study the striatum, and important brain region for both simple and complex movements and cognitive functions. The striatum contains a variety of cell types, which receive synaptic input from many different sources and relay information through the basal ganglia. We examine the function of neural circuits formed by striatal synapses that connect specific sources and targets. Our multidisciplinary approach includes quantitative analysis of gene expression; genetic and molecular manipulations of neural circuits; measurement of synaptic function and plasticity using electrophysiology; and optogenetic stimulation of circuits in brain slices and behaving animals. Our current research focuses on autism spectrum disorders and drug addiction - two brain conditions that affect overlapping elements of striatal circuitry.
Publications
Rothwell, PE 2016, 'Autism spectrum disorders and drug addiction: Common Pathways, Common Molecules, Distinct Disorders?' Frontiers in Neuroscience, vol. 10, no. FEB, 20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00020
Fuccillo, MV, Rothwell, PE & Malenka, RC 2016, 'From synapses to behavior: What rodent models can tell us about neuropsychiatric disease' Biological Psychiatry, vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 4-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.02.009
Gokce, O, Stanley, GM, Treutlein, B, Neff, NF, Camp, JG, Malenka, RC, Rothwell, PE, Fuccillo, MV, Südhof, TC & Quake, SR 2016, 'Cellular Taxonomy of the Mouse Striatum as Revealed by Single-Cell RNA-Seq' Cell Reports, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1126-1137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.06.059
Rothwell, PE, Hayton, SJ, Sun, GL, Fuccillo, MV, Lim, BK & Malenka, RC 2015, 'Input- and Output-Specific Regulation of Serial Order Performance by Corticostriatal Circuits' Neuron, vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 345-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.035
Fuccillo, MV, Földy, C, Gökce, Ö, Rothwell, PE, Sun, GL, Malenka, RC & Südhof, TC 2015, 'Single-Cell mRNA Profiling Reveals Cell-Type-Specific Expression of Neurexin Isoforms' Neuron, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 326-340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.028
Rothwell, PE, Fuccillo, MV, Maxeiner, S, Hayton, SJ, Gokce, O, Lim, BK, Fowler, SC, Malenka, RC & Südhof, TC 2014, 'Autism-associated neuroligin-3 mutations commonly impair striatal circuits to boost repetitive behaviors' Cell, vol. 158, no. 1, pp. 198-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.04.045
Rothwell, PE & Lammel, S 2013, 'Illuminating the opponent process: Cocaine effects on habenulomesencephalic circuitry' Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 33, no. 35, pp. 13935-13937. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2680-13.2013
Lim, BK, Huang, KW, Grueter, BA, Rothwell, PE & Malenka, RC 2012, 'Anhedonia requires MC4R-mediated synaptic adaptations in nucleus accumbens' Nature, vol. 487, no. 7406, pp. 183-189. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11160
Grueter, BA, Rothwell, PE & Malenka, RC 2012, 'Integrating synaptic plasticity and striatal circuit function in addiction' Current opinion in neurobiology, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 545-551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2011.09.009
Rothwell, PE, Thomas, MJ & Gewirtz, JC 2012, 'Protracted manifestations of acute dependence after a single morphine exposure' Psychopharmacology, vol. 219, no. 4, pp. 991-998. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2425-y