Craig A. Schiltz

E-mail: cschiltz@wisc.edu

Research Project:

We are working on characterizing the prefrontal cortical changes in rats associated with repeated administration of drugs of abuse in an environment and the changes upon reintroduction of the animal into the drug associated environment without drug administration-a model of drug craving or drug expectancy. We are measuring global changes in gene expression with microarrays. We are also interested in the contributions of various kinase signalling pathways in the drug craving or drug anticipation state. We are focusing our studies on the prefrontal cortex because of the documented role it plays in reward and behavioral regulation but we are also analyzing other brain areas.

Abstracts and Publications:

• Hernandez, P.J., C.A. Schiltz, and A.E. Kelley. 2006. The immediate early genes Homer1a and Zif268 are upregulated during instrumental learning. J. Neurosci.
• Schiltz, C.A., Kelley, A.E., and C.F. Landry. 2006. Mapping alterations in functional connectivity induced by food-associated cues with increased immediate early gene and proenkephalin expression. In preparation.
• Schiltz, C.A., Kelley, A.E., and C.F. Landry. 2006. Stress and nicotine cues interact to unveil latent locomotor arousal and activity-dependent gene expression in the prefrontal cortex. Biol. Psychiatry. In press.
• Schiltz, C.A. 2006. Habitual responding and the dorsal striatum. J. Neurosci. 26: 1891-1892.
• Hernandez, P.J., Schiltz, C.A., Bremmer, Q., Ryals, C., and A.E. Kelley 2005. Expression of the immediate early genes zif268 and homer-1a during instrumental learning. CSHL Learning and Memory Meeting. Poster.
• A.E. Kelley and C.A. Schiltz 2004. Accessories to addiction: G protein regulators play a key role in cocaine seeking and neuroplasticity. Neuron. 42(2):181-3. Schiltz, C.A., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2006.
• Mapping alterations in functional connectivity induced by food-associated cues with increased immediate early gene and proenkephalin expression. In preparation.
• Schiltz, C.A., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2006. Stress and nicotine cues interact to unveil latent locomotor arousal and activity-dependent gene expression in the prefrontal cortex. Biol Psychiatry. In press.
• Schiltz, C.A.. 2006. Habitual responding and the dorsal striatum. J Neurosci. 26(7):1891-2.
• •Rouhana, L., Wang, L., Buter, N., Kwak, J., Schiltz, C.A., Gonzalez, T., A.E. Kelley, Landry, C.F., and M. Wickens. 2005. Vertebrate GLD-2 poly(A) polymerase in the germline and the brain. RNA. 11(7):1117-30.
• Schiltz, C.A.., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2005. Contextual cues associated with nicotine administration increase arc mRNA expression in corticolimbic areas of the rat brain. Euro J Neurosci. 21(6):1703-11.
• Schroeder, B.E., Schiltz, C.A.., and A.E. Kelley 2003. Neural activation profile elicited by cues associated with the anxiogenic drug yohimbine differs from that observed for reward-paired cues. Neuropsychopharmacol. 28: 14-21.
• Schiltz, C.A., Benjamin, J., and M.L. Epstein. Expression of the GDNF receptors ret and GFRalpha1 in the developing avian enteric nervous system. 1999. J Comp Neurol. 414(2):193-211.
• Schiltz, C.A., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2005. Exposure to Cues Associated with Palatable Food Increases Immediate-Early Gene (IEG) mRNA and Proenkephalin (PENK) premRNA Expression in the Rat Brain. Annual ACNP Meeting.
• Schiltz, C.A.., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2004. Acute stress uncovers drug-cue reactivity and increased IEG expression in the prefrontal cortex of rats exposed to low dose nicotine cues. Soc Neurosci Abstr. Poster.
• Schiltz, C.A.., A.E. Kelley and C.F. Landry. 2004. Stress unveils a latent behavioral conditioned response and gene expression changes in the prefrontal cortex of rats exposed to cues associated with low doses of nicotine. College on Problems of Drug Dependency. Talk.
• Schiltz, C.A.., La Vaute, T.M., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2003. Cues associated with nicotine alter gene expression in rat prefrontal cortex. Soc Neurosci Abstr. Poster.
• Schiltz, C.A., La Vaute, T.M., Guerstner, J.R., A.E. Kelley, and C.F. Landry. 2002. Morphine-paired environmental cues elicit an elevation of Arc mRNA in rat prefrontal cortex. Soc Neurosci Abstr. Poster.