Faculty - Drake Morgan, Ph.D
Additional Information
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Drake Morgan, Ph.D P.O. Box 100183 |
Drake Morgan received a Ph.D. in Experimental and Biological Psychology from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) under the direction of Dr. Mitchell Picker. Most of this research focused on opioid behavioral pharmacology in rats and pigeons (drug discrimination, schedule-controlled responding, antinociception testing). In 1998, he began post-doctoral training at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem with Dr. Michael Nader conducting cocaine self-administration studies in non-human primates coupled with PET imaging and social housing manipulations. He then moved into an Assistant Professor position with a K01 award from NIH/NIDA with Dr. David Roberts as a primary mentor. Studies during this period resulted in the development of animal models of the addiction process using numerous behavioral procedures. Neurobiological consequences of drug-taking in these “addicted” rats were then characterized. These consequences include changes in dopaminergic tone and dopamine transporter sensitivity (determined by in vivo voltammetry and microdialysis), changes in receptor-coupling efficiency (measured with GTPγS in vitro techniques), and alterations in gene and protein expression (assessed by microarrays and subsequent protein analysis or laser-capture microdissection and single-cell RT-PCR). In 2005, Dr. Morgan joined the Department of Psychiatry and the Division on Addiction Medicine as an Assistant Professor.
| Degree Program |
Institution | Field/Specialty |
| B.A. | Seton Hall University | Experimental psychology |
| Ph.D. | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hil | Behavioral pharmacology |
| Post-doc | Wake Forest University | Behavioral and neuropharmacology |
There are several lines of research being investigated in our laboratory. The three primary areas include: (1) effects of chronic opioid administration across ages, (2) assessment of potential pharmacotherapies for stimulant abuse, and (3) behavioral and physiological consequences following repeated cocaine exposure.
Chronic opioids and aging: As the relative age of the population increases, more people will experience chronic pain and be exposed to opioids as potential medications. Unfortunately little is known about the long-term consequences of chronic opioid administration, especially in older populations. We are examining differences in pain sensitivity across ages in rats, the effects of repeated exposure (e.g. tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia), and developing new “operant-based” procedures to assess pain. In addition, other physiological (e.g. fat and lean body composition, thermoregulation) and behavioral changes (e.g. various physical performance measures, and “cognitive” measures) are being assessed.
Medication development for stimulant abuse: In collaboration with a medicinal chemist (in the College of Pharmacy), we are testing novel serotonergic-based compounds in various procedures including drug discrimination, schedule-controlled responding, and self-administration. We hope to characterize the involvement of various serotonin receptor subtypes in the abuse-related effects of these stimulants, and find a compound that blocks some of these effects.
Long-term consequences of cocaine administration: Repeated administration of cocaine results in various behavioral and physiological changes thought to last for extended periods of time. These include tolerance and sensitization (decreases and increases in sensitivity) to various b ehavioral effects (e.g. locomotor-altering effects), changes in gene and protein profiles (assessed using gene arrays, western blots, or proteomic procedures), and potentially cardiac problems. In collaboration with researchers both within and outside of Psychiatry, we are trying to identify some of these changes.
There is currently one graduate student (Jeremiah Mitzelfelt), several undergraduate students, and occasionally medical students in the laboratory. I get to teach to several groups of students, including undergraduate and graduate students and residents in our department. Topics generally include animal models of psychiatric disorders and addiction, or something related to particular drugs (e.g. cocaine or opioids).
Drake Morgan, Christy S. Carter, Jameson P. DuPree, Robert P. Yezierski, and Charles J. Vierck Jr. Evaluation of Prescription Opioids using Operant-based Pain Measures in Rats. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, in press
Drake Morgan, Kimberly Frost-Pineda, Mark S. Gold. Medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids: epidemiology and prevalence. Psychiatric Annals, 2006, 36: 404-409.
Drake Morgan, Yu Liu, David C.S. Roberts. Rapid and persistent sensitization to the reinforcing effects of cocaine. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2006, 31: 121-128.
Drake Morgan, Kathleen A. Grant, Robert H. Mach, H. Donald Gage, Richard L., Ehrenkaufer, Jay R. Kaplan, Osric A. Prioleau, Susan H. Nader, Nancy Buchheimer, Michael A. Nader. Social dominance in monkeys: dopamine D2 receptors and cocaine self-administration. Nature Neuroscience, 2002, 5: 169-174.
Drake Morgan, Charles D. Cook, Mitchell J. Picker. Sensitivity to the discriminative stimulus and antinociceptive effects of m opioids: Role of strain of rat, stimulus intensity, and intrinsic efficacy at the m opioid receptor. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 1999, 289: 965-975.