Research Areas
Research Interests
Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. While each anxiety disorder has different symptoms, all the symptoms cluster around excessive, irrational fear. Currently the neurobiological basis for these disorders remains poorly understood and treatments for these disorders remain inadequate. Therefore research in my laboratory focuses on identifying the molecular and biochemical mechanisms that contribute to the development of fear and the maintenance of fear.
Collectively my laboratory utilizes a myriad of molecular, biochemical and behavioral approaches to study learned fear (cue-induced anxiety) and innate fear. In particular we manipulate gene expression within the rodent brain utilizing recombinant viruses to establish respective roles for individual genes/proteins in neural plasticity, memory formation and anxiety.
Publications
Partin A.C., Hosek M.P., Luong J.A., Lella S.K., Sharma S.A., Ploski JE (2013). "Amygdala nuclei critical for emotional learning exhibit unique gene expression patterns." Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2013 Sep;104:110-21. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.06.015. Epub 2013 Jul 2. 2013 - Publication
Ploski J.E., Monsey M.S., Nguyen T., Dileone R.J., Schafe G.E. (2011) The neuronal PAS domain protein 4 (Npas4) is required for new and reactivated fear memories. PLoS One. 6(8):e23760. Epub 2011 Aug 22. 2011 - Publication
Ploski JE, Park KW, Ping J, Monsey MS, Schafe GE (2010) Identification of plasticity-associated genes regulated by Pavlovian fear conditioning in the lateral amygdala. J Neurochem 112:636-650. 2010 - Publication
Overeem KA, Ota KT, Monsey MS, Ploski JE, Schafe GE (2010) A role for nitric oxide-driven retrograde signaling in the consolidation of a fear memory. Front Behav Neurosci 4:2. 2010 - Publication
Ploski JE, Topisirovic I, Park KW, Borden KL, Radu A (2009) A mechanism of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking for the homeodomain protein PRH. Mol Cell Biochem 332:173-181. 2009 - Publication
Ploski JE, Park K, Schafe GE, Identification of genes induced by fear conditioning in the lateral amygdala. Program No. 294.7, Neuroscience Meeting Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience, 2008 2008 - Publication
Gourley SL, Wu FJ, Kiraly DD, Ploski JE, Kedves AT, Duman RS, Taylor JR (2008) Regionally specific regulation of ERK MAP kinase in a model of antidepressant-sensitive chronic depression. Biol Psychiatry 63:353-359. 2008 - Publication
Ota KT, Pierre VJ, Ploski JE, Queen K, Schafe GE (2008) The NO-cGMP-PKG signaling pathway regulates synaptic plasticity and fear memory consolidation in the lateral amygdala via activation of ERK/MAP kinase. Learn Mem 15:792-805. 2008 - Publication
Ploski JE, Pierre VJ, Smucny J, Park K, Monsey MS, Overeem KA, Schafe GE (2008) The activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein (Arc/Arg3.1) is required for memory consolidation of pavlovian fear conditioning in the lateral amygdala. J Neurosci 28:12383-12395. 2008 - Publication
Ploski JE, Schafe GE, Gene expression analysis of long-term potentiation in the lateral amygdala. Program No. 91.8/RR29, Neuroscience Meeting Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, 2007 2007 - Publication
Appointments
Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Dallas [2010–Present]
Associate Research Scientist
Yale University [2009–2010]
Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale University [2006–2009]
Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale University School of Medicine [2004–2006]
Graduate Student
Mount Sinai School of Medicine of NYU [1998–2004]
Research Assistant
Roswell Park Cancer Institute [1997–1998]
Research Assistant
University at Buffalo [1996–1997]