Sonja works for Dr. Kathryn Cunningham in the Center for Addiction Research. As Research Project Manger, she is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the use of the Rodent In Vivo Assessment Core. In addition to her role as core manager, Sonja
assists with multiple behavioral and immunohistological projects in Dr. Cunningham's laboratory.
Education- B.S., 2004, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
Publications
Anastasio NC, Stutz SJ, Fox RG, Sears RM, Emeson RB, DiLeone RJ, O'Neil RT, Fink LH, Li D, Green TA, Moeller FG and Cunningham KA (2014) Functional status of the serotonin 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR)
drives interlocked phenotypes that precipitate relapse-like behaviors in cocaine dependence. Neuropsychopharmacology 39(2):370-82.
Anastasio NC, Gilbertson SR, Bubar MJ, Seitz PK, Agarkov A, Jeng Y, Bremer NM, Smith TD, Stutz SJ, Fox RG, Charendoff MN, Craft JW, Watson CS, Briggs JM and Cunningham KA (2013) Peptide inhibitors disrupt the serotonin 5-HT2C receptor interaction with phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) to allosterically modulate cellular signaling and behavior. Journal of Neuroscience 33(4):1615-30.
Yan J, Mei FC, Cheng H, Lao DH, Hu Y, Wei J, Patrikeev I, Hao D, Stutz SJ, Dineley KT, Motamedi M, Hommel JD, Cunningham KA, Chen J and Cheng X (2013) Enhanced leptin sensitivity reduced adiposity and improved glucose homeostatsis
in mice lackin exchange protein directly activated by cyclic AMP isoform 1. Mol Cell Biol 33(5):918-26.
Cunningham KA, Anastasio NC, Fox RG, Stutz SJ, Bubar MJ, Swinford SE, Watson CS, Gilbertson SR, Rice KC, Rosenweig-Lipson S and Moeller FG (2012) Synergism between a serotonin 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) antagonist
and 5-HT2CR agonist suggests new pharmacotherapeutics for cocaine addiction. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 4(1):110-21.
Bubar MJ, Stutz SJ and Cunningham KA (2011) 5-HT2C Receptors localize to dopamine and GABA neurons in the rat mesoaccumbens pathway. PLoS ONE 6(6):e20508.
Cunningham KA, Fox RG, Anastasio NC, Bubar MJ, Stutz SJ, Moeller FG, Gilberson SR and Rosenweig-Lipson S (2011) Selective serotonin 5-HT2C receptor activation suppresses the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine and sucrose but
differentially affects the incentive-salience of cocaine- vs. sucrose-associated cues. Neuropharmacology 61(3):513-23.
Anastasio NC, Lanfranco MF, Bubar MJ, Seitz PK, Stutz SJ, McGinnis AG, Watson CS and Cunningham KA (2010) Serotonin (5-HT) 2C receptor (5-HT2CR) protein expression is enriched in synaptosomal and postsynaptic compartments
of rat cortex. Journal of Neurochemistry 113(6):1504-1515.
NicDhonnachadha BA, Fox RG, Stutz SJ, Rice KC and Cunningham KA (2009) Blockade of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor suppresses cue-evoked reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior in a rat self-administration model. Behav Neurosci 123(2):382-96.
Sell SL, Craft SM, Seitz PK, Stutz SJ, Cunningham KA and Thomas ML (2008) Estradiol-sertraine synergy in ovariectomized rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 33(8):1051-60.
Shank EJ, Seitz PK, Stutz SJ and Cunningham KA (2007) Selective ablation of GABA neurons in the ventral tegmental area increases spontaneous locomotor activity. Behavioral Neuroscience 121:1224-1233.
Canal CE, Stutz SJ and Gold PE (2005) Glucose injections into the dorsal hippocampus or dorsolateral striatum of rats prior to T-maze training: modulation of learning rates and strategy selection. Learn Mem. 12(4):367-74.