Nikki Crowley
Assistant Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering
-
326 Mueller Lab
University Park, PA - nzc27@psu.edu
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
- Center for Molecular Investigation of Neurological Disorders
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience Institute
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
- Integrative and Biomedical Physiology
Links
Publication Tags
Neurons Brain Anxiety Ethanol Kappa Opioid Receptor Somatostatin Dynorphins Alcohols Prefrontal Cortex Septal Nuclei Peptides Central Amygdaloid Nucleus Alcohol Drinking Binge Drinking Amygdala Basolateral Nuclear Complex Neurotensin Reward Neuropeptides Corpus Striatum Depression Parabrachial Nucleus Sucrose Drive AlcoholismMost Recent Publications
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
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
An innovative approach to examining the role of neurotransmitters in fear circuitry
Keith R. Griffith, Nicole A. Crowley, 2022, Neuropsychopharmacology
Targeted and transient opening of the blood brain barrier in discrete neurocircuits and brain regions
Nicole A. Crowley, Scott H. Medina, 2022, Neuropsychopharmacology
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
Forced Abstinence From Alcohol Induces Sex-Specific Depression-Like Behavioral and Neural Adaptations in Somatostatin Neurons in Cortical and Amygdalar Regions
Nigel C. Dao, Malini Suresh Nair, Sarah N. Magee, J. Brody Moyer, Veronica Sendao, Dakota F. Brockway, Nicole A. Crowley, 2020, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
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
Full function of exon junction complex factor, Rbm8a, is critical for interneuron development
Colleen McSweeney, Fengping Dong, Miranda Chen, Jessica Vitale, Li Xu, Nicole Crowley, Bernhard Luscher, D Zou, Yingwei Mao, 2020, Translational Psychiatry
Turning the ' Tides on Neuropsychiatric Diseases: The Role of Peptides in the Prefrontal Cortex
Dakota F. Brockway, Nicole A. Crowley, 2020, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
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
Chronic alcohol produces neuroadaptations to prime dorsal striatal learning
Lauren DePoy, Rachel Daut, Jonathan L. Brigman, Kathryn MacPherson, Nicole Crowley, Ozge Gunduz-Cinar, Charles L. Pickens, Resat Cinar, Lisa M. Saksida, George Kunos, David M. Lovinger, Timothy J. Bussey, Marguerite C. Camp, Andrew Holmes, 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 14783-14788
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
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
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
News Articles Featuring Nikki Crowley
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
Apr 06, 2022
First round of funded projects announced from the Benkovic Research Initiative
Four projects have been announced as recipients of funding from the Patricia and Stephen Benkovic Research Initiative, which supports risky, highly innovative investigation at the interface of chemistry and the life sciences.
Full Article