Joel P. Gallagher, Ph.D.

Professor

Affiliations: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Adjunct Member, Marine Biomedical Institute

Phone: (409) 772-1561
Fax: (409) 772-9642
Email: jpgallag@utmb.edu

Education

• B.Sc. - 1964 University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN)
• B.Sc., R.Ph. - 1967 University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Pharmacy
• Ph.D. -1972 Loyola University of Chicago
• Postdoctoral Fellowships (NIH/NINCDS) in Neurology and Neurophysiology -1975 Loyola University of Chicago

research interests

Our laboratory investigates the effects of CNS stimulants (cocaine, phencyclidine) administered chronically in vivo - then withdrawn - and determines in vitro the persistent plastic synaptic and cellular adaptations that occur due to chronic drug exposure. Specific CNS neurons, their synaptic transmission and associated reward circuitry within septal and amygdaloid nuclei, and, their connections with pyramidal neurons within the limbic prefrontal cortex are our focus. Utilizing these chronically-treated rats as models of mental disorders, we employ whole cell intracellular electrophysiological recording techniques from brain slice preparations, while also labeling cells intracellularly and subsequently coupling immunocytochemical procedures with Western Blot analyses to provide phenotypic markers of these neurons. We intend to determine how the 'state' of these neurons, as regulated by corticotrophic-releasing factor (CRF), affects basal and evoked synaptic acitivity in 'normal' and 'modeled' brains. Knowledge gained will translate into the most novel rationale and appropriate pharmacotherapy.

Chronic Cocaine ALTERS CRF Regulation of Synaptic Transmission

Biographical Information

Dr. Joel P. Gallagher is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). In addition to teaching within the School of Medicine and The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UTMB, he conducts research on the cellular mechanisms of CNS active drugs. His research has been supported by three different institutes within the NIH, namely, NIDA, NIMH, and NINDS, as well as, other federal (NSF, NASA, DOD) agencies, private foundations, and drug companies. Prior to coming to UTMB, Dr. Gallagher was on the faculty at Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois in the Departments of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Neurology (1972-1975). He was awarded his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Loyola in 1972. His prior professional training for a degree in Pharmacy and license as a pharmacist was completed at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago (1967), with an undergraduate degree (B.S.) from The University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota (1964).

Selected Publications

Orozco-Cabal, Luis, Pollandt, Sebastian, Liu, Jie, Vergara, Leoncio, Shinnick-Gallagher, P, Gallagher, JP. A novel rat medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortical slice preparation to investigate synaptic transmission from amygdala to Layers V\VI of Prelimbic mPFC. J Neurosci Methods, In press.

Liu, Jie, Orozco-Cabal, Luis, Yu, Baojian, Grigoriadis, D.E, J. Rivier, W.W. Vale, Shinnick-Gallagher, P., and Gallagher, J.P. Chronic cocaine prevents typical depressant regulation of glutamatergic transmission by CRF(r\h) and Ucn I. J. Neurosci.25 (3) 577-583, 2005.

Liu, Jie, Yu, Baojian, Neugebauer, V., Grigoriadis, D.E, J. Rivier, W.W. Vale, Shinnick-Gallagher, P., and Gallagher, J.P. Corticotropin Releasing Factor and Urocortin I regulate glutamatergic transmission. J. Neurosci. 24(16): 4020-4029, 2004.

Yu, B., Liu, J. and Gallagher, J.P. Chronic Phencyclidine – A Rat Model of Schizophrenia – Exhibits Altered Medial Prefrontal Cortex Pyramidal Neuron Properties and GABAA-mediated Synaptic Transmission. Preclinica, 2004; 2:105.

Yu, B., Liu, J., Overstreet, D.H., and Gallagher, J.P. Serotonin produces an enhanced outward current recorded at rat dorsal lateral; septal neurons from the Flinders Sensitive Line of Rats, a genetically selected animal model of depression. Neurosci Letts, 339: 235-238, 2003.