Ohio Northern University awarded National Institute of Mental Health grant to study ‘Time-Dependent Effects of Stress and Learning: Physiological and Genetic Associations’

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has awarded Ohio Northern University an Academic Research Enhancement Award to conduct research that could provide new insights into traumatic memory formation and ultimately lead to more-targeted treatment options for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Phillip Zoladz, associate professor of psychology and principal investigator for the research, said, “The proposed studies will provide important information about how the timing of stress interacts with genetic and physiological characteristics of an individual to influence human learning. This ultimately may tell us something about who is more likely to form traumatic memories following stress, thus a possible connection to PTSD.”

The grant, totaling $423,776, is titled “Time-Dependent Effects of Stress on Learning: Physiological and Genetic Associations.” This is the largest grant ONU has received for research and the largest given to the Getty College of Arts & Sciences. Boyd Rorabaugh, associate professor of pharmacology and cell biology, is serving as a co-investigator.

Zoladz said that the grant money would be used to hire several ONU undergraduate research assistants and to purchase new lab equipment to conduct cutting-edge studies. Research will begin in summer 2015, and the grant covers costs through spring 2018.

Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under award number 1R15MH104836-01A1. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Cutline: Members of the behavioral neuroscience lab team are: (front row, left to right) Tessa Duffy, Callie Brown, Hannah Nagle, Amanda Scharf. Second row: Boyd Rodabaugh, Courtney Knippen, Miranda Fiely, Alison Dailey, Chelsea Cadle, David Peters, Phil Zoladz.