Brianna Sheppard

Advisor: Dr. Matthew Palmatier

Description of Research

I am broadly interested in the neural underpinnings of motivation and disorders of motivated-behaviors. My primary research interest concerns using pre-clinical rodent models to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying drug addiction and drug-seeking behavior. Nicotine is particularly fascinating because it is often consumed in the presence of distinct stimuli or contexts as well as in conjunction with other substances such as alcohol (e.g. “I only smoke when I drink.”) or caffeine (e.g “I have to have a cigarette with my coffee.”). The neurochemical changes involved in making the experiences of non-drug rewards better under the influence of nicotine and where these changes are occurring in the brain are my current focus of study.

Publications

Sheppard, A. B. Gross, S.C., Pavelka, S.A., Hall, M.J., & Palmatier, M.I. (in press). Caffeine increase the motivation to obtain non-drug reinforcers in rats. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

J.W.Jones, A.B. Sheppard, J.Shoe, & C.Y. Lee, “Hypothermic Machine Perfusion Preservation of Livers,” in Organ Resuscitation and Re-Engineering, Artech House Publishing, Norwood MA, 2011.

Cope, Z.A., Thompson, K.N., Sheppard, A.B., Noel, D.M., Roane, D.S., & Brown, R.W. (2010).Neonatal quinpirole treatment enhances locomotor activation and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core in response to amphetamine treatment in adulthood. Synapse, 64, 289-300.

Sheppard A. B., Lehmann, J., Cope, Z.A. & Brown, R.W. (2009). Sex differences in nicotine sensitization and conditioned hyperactivity in adolescent rats neonatally treated with quinpirole: role of D2 and D3 receptor subtypes. Behavioral Neuroscience, 123, 1296-1308.

Correll, J.A., Noel, D. M., Sheppard, A.B., Thompson, K.N., Li, Y., Yin, D., & Brown, R.W. (2009). Nicotine sensitization and analysis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in adolescent β arrestin-2 knockout mice Synapse, 63, 510-519.

Representative Presentations

Oral

Palmatier, M. I., Jones, S. A., Rindt, B. L. & Sheppard, A. B. (2012, June). Effects of oral and intraperitoneal caffeine on alcohol drinking and self-administration in an intermittent-access paradigm. Research Society on Alcoholism Annual Scientific Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Sheppard, A. B. & Palmatier, M. I. (2012, May) Investigating the Neural Circuitry underlying the Reinforcement Enhancing Effect Nicotine. Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Jones, J.W., Sheppard, A.B., Clemens, M., & Lee, C. (2010, May). Hypothermic Machine Preservation is Superior to Cold Storage in a Porcine DCD Model. American Transplant Congress, San Diego, CA.

Poster

Sheppard, A. B., Crumer, A, Marks, K, Habiger, C. J., Ring, K., Flynn, K. & Palmatier, M. I. (2012, May). Nicotine administered during acquisition of operant conditioning increases the salience of a visual reward. Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. Presenter

Gross, S. C., Dikeman, M. E., Sheppard, A. B., Floyd, R. M. & Palmatier, M. I. (2012, May). Reinforcement enhancing effects of caffeine. Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Sheppard, A.B. & Palmatier, M.I. (March, 2012). Effect of nicotine on the acquisition of sensory reinforcement in rats. Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Houston, TX.

Noll, C. R., Sheppard, A. B., Pavelka, S. A., Floyd, R, & Palmatier, M. I. (2011, November). Impulsive action as a predictor of the reinforcement enhancing effect of nicotine. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, D.C.

Jones, J. A., Sheppard, A. B., Strutz, A. K., & Palmatier, M. I. (2011, November). Caffeine increases the motivation to obtain alcohol and drinking in an intermittent-access paradigm. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, D.C.

Education

B.S. Psychology, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise, VA, 2006

M.A. Psychology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, 2008

Scholarships and Awards

Graduate Student Travel Award, Animal Learning, Psychobiology and Comparative Psychology, Midwestern Psychological Association, 2012

Graduate Student Travel Grant, KSU Johnson Cancer Research Center, November 2011

Timothy R. Donaghue Graduate Scholarship, Kansas State University, 2010 & 2011

Internal Grant, School of Graduate Studies, East Tennessee State University, 2007

B.S. awarded with Honors, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, 2006

Outstanding Research Contribution in Psychology, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, 2006

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant (TA) assignments:

Drugs and Behavior - Fall 2010
Cognitive Psychology - Fall 2010, Spring 2011 & 2012
Psychobiology - Spring 2011
Health Psychology - Fall 2011
Principles of Learning - Fall 2011
General Psychology - Spring 2012