Endocannabinoid Regulation of Monoamines in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders

Elisabeth Van Bockstaele is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.  She obtained her PhD from New York University and conducted her postdoctoral work at Cornell University Medical College in New York City. She served as Vice-Chair of Research in the Department of Neurological Surgery and is the current founding Director of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience in the College of Biomedical and Graduate Studies at Thomas Jefferson University. She has served on multiple grant review panels including serving as Chair of the Neuroimmunology, Neuroendocrinology and Behavior Study Section at the National Institutes of Health and she served as Chair of the Membership and Chapters Committee of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) and as a Member of the Committee on Neuroscience Departments and Programs and Professional Development Committee at SfN.  She was also a fellow in theExecutive Leadership in Academic Medicine program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Van Bockstaele has devoted her scientific career to understanding the role of norepinephrine in stress-related illness, particularly as it relates to psychiatric disorders. Her research has primarily focused on preclinical studies examining the cellular adaptations of noradrenergic circuits to drugs of abuse (opiates, cannabinoids and psychostimulants) but more recently has expanded to include clinical investigations.  Ongoing research efforts are aimed at understanding stress-related psychiatric disorders, novel opiate detoxification approaches for counteracting norepinephrine over-activity following withdrawal from opiates as well as elucidating the impact of stress on vulnerability to substance abuse. Her laboratory is one of the only research groups studying interactions between the endocannabinoid and noradrenergic systems and her group employs state-of-the-art high-resolution neuroanatomical approaches with subcellular precision to understand the nature of state dependent interactions of this integrative system for the treatment of stress-induced anxiety disorders.

• Endocannabinoids and monoamines: modulating the modulators.- Endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity.- Current cannabinoid receptor nomenclature and pharmacological principles.- Cue-elicited craving for cannabis activates the reward neurocircuitry associated with the neuropathology of addiction.- Cannabinoid modulation of dopaminergic circuits in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.- Pathophysiology of mood disorders and mechanisms of action of antidepressants and mood stabilizers.- Anatomical, biochemical and behavioral evidence for cannabinoid modulation of noradrenergic circuits: role of norepinephrine in cannabinoid-induced aversion.- Gender Disparity of Depression: The Role of Endocannabinoids and Noradrenergic Function.- Endocannabinoids, Monoamines and Stress.- Chronic effects of cannabinoid drugs on monoaminergic systems and the role of endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors in human brain disorders.- Endocannabinoid Signaling and the Regulation of theSerotonin System.- Modulation of serotonin firing activity through CB1 agonists and FAAH inhibitors.- Involvement of serotonergic system in cannabinoid analgesia.- Cannabinoids, monoamines, COMT and schizophrenia: pathobiological mechanisms in psychosis.

From the reviews:“This book reviews the expansion of our understanding of cannabinoid modulation of monoaminergic circuits and their interactions in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders. … intended for readers familiar with both clinical and preclinical research in this area, including individuals at all research, educational, and clinical levels interested in issues related to the use of cannabinoids for medical purposes. … a detailed and technical review of recent information on this receptor system and how it relates to a number of neurological and psychiatric disorders.” (Michael Easton, Doody’s Book Reviews, February, 2014)