Nikki Crowley

Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology & Neural Engineering; Assistant Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering; Associate Director for Postdoctoral Training and Leadership, Center for Neural Engineering

Nikki Crowley

Research Summary

Investigation of peptidergic transmission throughout the brain, using cell-specific and pathway-specific manipulations to understand how peptides alter neuronal signaling and behavior, particularly in the context of stress and drug use.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

These publication tags are generated from the output of this researcher. Click any tag below to view other Huck researchers working on the same topic.

Neurons Anxiety Brain Kappa Opioid Receptor Binge Drinking Dynorphins Somatostatin Basolateral Nuclear Complex Septal Nuclei Amygdala Ethanol Prefrontal Cortex Alcohol Drinking Alcohols Pyramidal Cells Glutamic Acid Reward Peptides Drive Nucleus Accumbens Central Amygdaloid Nucleus Phosphotransferases Neurotensin Underage Drinking Apolipoprotein E4

Most Recent Publications

Alcohol and stress exposure across the lifespan are key risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease and cognitive decline

Laurel R. Seemiller, Julio Flores-Cuadra, Keith R. Griffith, Grace C. Smith, Nicole A. Crowley, 2024, Neurobiology of Stress

Somatostatin peptide signaling dampens cortical circuits and promotes exploratory behavior

D Brockway, K Griffith, C Aloimonos, T Clarity, J Moyer, G Smith, N Dao, M Hossain, Patrick Drew, J Gordon, D Kupferschmidt, Nicole A. Crowley, 2023, Cell Reports on p. 112976

Adolescent binge drinking leads to long-lasting changes in cortical microcircuits in mice

Avery R. Sicher, William D. Starnes, Keith R. Griffith, Nigel C. Dao, Grace C. Smith, Dakota F. Brockway, Nicole A. Crowley, 2023, Neuropharmacology

Predictive link between systemic metabolism and cytokine signatures in the brain of apolipoprotein E ε4 mice

Rebecca Fleeman, A Snyder, M Kuhn, D Chan, G Smith, Nicole Crowley, Amy Arnold, Elizabeth Proctor, 2022, Neurobiology of Aging on p. 154-169

An innovative approach to examining the role of neurotransmitters in fear circuitry

Keith R. Griffith, Nicole A. Crowley, 2022, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 2175-2176

Somatostatin neurons in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis play a sex-dependent role in binge Drinking

Malini Suresh Nair, Nigel C. Dao, Daniela Lopez Melean, Keith R. Griffith, W. David Starnes, J. Brody Moyer, Avery R. Sicher, Dakota F. Brockway, Kathleen D. Meeks, Nicole A. Crowley, 2022, Journal of Electrophysiological Techniques on p. 38-46

Targeted and transient opening of the blood brain barrier in discrete neurocircuits and brain regions

Nikki Crowley*, Nicole A. Crowley, Scott Medina*, 2022, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 253-254

Adolescent Alcohol and Stress Exposure Rewires Key Cortical Neurocircuitry

Avery R. Sicher, Arielle Duerr, William D. Starnes, Nicole A. Crowley, 2022, Frontiers in Neuroscience

Developing breakthrough psychiatric treatments by modulating G protein-coupled receptors on prefrontal cortex somatostatin interneurons

Nicole A. Crowley, Max E. Joffe, 2022, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 389-390

Somatostatin neurons control an alcohol binge drinking prelimbic microcircuit in mice

Nigel C. Dao, Dakota F. Brockway, Malini Suresh Nair, Avery R. Sicher, Nicole A. Crowley, 2021, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 1906-1917

Most-Cited Papers

A New DREADD Facilitates the Multiplexed Chemogenetic Interrogation of Behavior

Eyal Vardy, J. Elliott Robinson, Chia Li, Reid H.J. Olsen, Jeffrey F. DiBerto, Patrick M. Giguere, Flori M. Sassano, Xi Ping Huang, Hu Zhu, Daniel J. Urban, Kate L. White, Joseph E. Rittiner, Nicole A. Crowley, Kristen E. Pleil, Christopher M. Mazzone, Philip D. Mosier, Juan Song, Thomas L. Kash, C. J. Malanga, Michael J. Krashes, Bryan L. Roth, 2015, Neuron on p. 936-946

Distinct Subpopulations of Nucleus Accumbens Dynorphin Neurons Drive Aversion and Reward

Ream Al-Hasani, Jordan G. McCall, Gunchul Shin, Adrian M. Gomez, Gavin P. Schmitz, Julio M. Bernardi, Chang O. Pyo, Sung Il Park, Catherine M. Marcinkiewcz, Nicole A. Crowley, Michael J. Krashes, Bradford B. Lowell, Thomas L. Kash, John A. Rogers, Michael R. Bruchas, 2015, Neuron on p. 1063-1077

LRRK2 regulates synaptogenesis and dopamine receptor activation through modulation of PKA activity

Loukia Parisiadou, Jia Yu, Carmelo Sgobio, Chengsong Xie, Guoxiang Liu, Lixin Sun, Xing Long Gu, Xian Lin, Nicole A. Crowley, David M. Lovinger, Huaibin Cai, 2014, Nature Neuroscience on p. 367-376

Effects of chronic ethanol exposure on neuronal function in the prefrontal cortex and extended amygdala

Kristen E. Pleil, Emily G. Lowery-Gionta, Nicole A. Crowley, Chia Li, Catherine A. Marcinkiewcz, Jamie H. Rose, Nora M. McCall, Antoniette M. Maldonado-Devincci, A. Leslie Morrow, Sara R. Jones, Thomas L. Kash, 2015, Neuropharmacology on p. 735-749

Dynorphin Controls the Gain of an Amygdalar Anxiety Circuit

Nicole A. Crowley, Daniel W. Bloodgood, J. Andrew Hardaway, Alexis M. Kendra, Jordan G. McCall, Ream Al-Hasani, Nora M. McCall, Waylin Yu, Zachary L. Schools, Michael J. Krashes, Bradford B. Lowell, Jennifer L. Whistler, Michael R. Bruchas, Thomas L. Kash, 2016, Cell Reports on p. 2774-2783

Kappa opioid receptor signaling in the brain: Circuitry and implications for treatment

Nicole A. Crowley, Thomas L. Kash, 2015, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry on p. 51-60

Neuropeptide regulation of signaling and behavior in the BNST

Thomas L. Kash, Kristen E. Pleil, Catherine A. Marcinkiewcz, Emily G. Lowery-Gionta, Nicole Crowley, Christopher Mazzone, Jonathan Sugam, J. Andrew Hardaway, Zoe A. McElligott, 2015, Molecules and Cells on p. 1-13

Manipulations of central amygdala neurotensin neurons alter the consumption of ethanol and sweet fluids in mice

María Luisa Torruella-Suárez, Jessica R. Vandenberg, Elizabeth S. Cogan, Gregory J. Tipton, Adonay Teklezghi, Kedar Dange, Gunjan K. Patel, Jenna A. McHenry, J. Andrew Hardaway, Pranish A. Kantak, Nicole A. Crowley, Jeffrey F. DiBerto, Sara P. Faccidomo, Clyde W. Hodge, Garret D. Stuber, Zoé A. McElligott, 2020, Journal of Neuroscience on p. 632-647

Glutamatergic mechanisms associated with stress-induced amygdala excitability and anxiety-related behavior

Sophie Masneuf, Emily Lowery-Gionta, Giovanni Colacicco, Kristen E. Pleil, Chia Li, Nicole Crowley, Shaun Flynn, Andrew Holmes, Thomas Kash, 2014, Neuropharmacology on p. 190-197

Chronic stress dysregulates amygdalar output to the prefrontal cortex

Emily G. Lowery-Gionta, Nicole A. Crowley, Olena Bukalo, Shana Silverstein, Andrew Holmes, Thomas Louis Kash, 2018, Neuropharmacology on p. 68-75

News Articles Featuring Nikki Crowley

Mar 12, 2024

Biology postdoc awarded National Institutes of Health fellowship

Laurel Seemiller, a postdoctoral scholar in biology at Penn State, has been awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Full Article

Feb 13, 2024

Heard on campus: Nikki Crowley on 30 years of neuroscience advances

Nikki Crowley recently spoke at the Ashtekar Frontiers of Science, an annual public lecture series held by the Eberly College of Science, on 30 years of advances in cell signaling and neuroscience

Full Article

Oct 06, 2023

Nikki Crowley honored with Women in STEAM Award by the Whitaker Center

Nikki Crowley, Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology and Neural Engineering and assistant professor of biology and of biomedical engineering, has been named among Women to Watch: Class of 2023 as part of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts’ Women in STEAM Awards.

Full Article

Aug 17, 2023

Uncovering the role of somatostatin signaling in the brain

New research in mice demonstrates how the signaling molecule somatostatin acts to dampen neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex and stimulate exploratory behavior.

Full Article

Jun 08, 2023

Mouse models of adolescent binge drinking reveal key long-lasting brain changes

Heavy alcohol consumption may cause permanent dysregulation of neurons, or brain cells, in adolescents, according to a new study in mice.

Full Article

Feb 20, 2023

New Student Spotlight video highlights neuroscience's Avery Sicher

The latest entry in the Student Spotlight series from the Huck Institutes covers Avery Sicher, a graduate student in the Neuroscience Program, and her research on the effects of alcohol consumption on brain development.

Full Article

Jan 17, 2023

Crowley receives Huck Early Career Chair appointment

Nikki Crowley, assistant professor of biology and biomedical engineering, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology and Neural Engineering by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

Full Article

Nov 10, 2022

New research on effects of binge drinking earns biologist early career award

Nikki Crowley, assistant professor of biology and biomedical engineering at Penn State, is the 2022 recipient of the Neuropsychopharmacology Editor’s Early Career Award.

Full Article

Jul 11, 2022

Penn State biologist receives NIH grant to help unlock biology of binge drinking

Nikki Crowley, assistant professor of biology and of biomedical engineering at Penn State, has been awarded a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study the neurobiology of binge alcohol drinking.

Full Article

Jun 23, 2022

Neuroscience grad student awarded grant to study adolescent binge drinking

Avery Sicher, a graduate student in the neuroscience program at Penn State's Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has received a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support her continued research. Sicher is one of few Huck students to receive this recognition.

Full Article