Kellie Wilson
Washington University
Danny Winder lab
Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by a cycle of use, withdrawal, and relapse, and the most cited cause of relapse is stress. The Winder lab studies this intersection between stress and relapse with a particular focus on the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis (BNST), which is a subcortical region known for mediating stress responses. My project looks at both the function of a subpopulation of neurons which begins co-expressing corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and Protein Kinase C-delta (PKCd) only after stress, and the role of astrocytes in mediating BNST signaling.