Elena Chartoff, PhD, who was the head of the Neurobiology of Motivated Behavior Laboratory at McLean Hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has passed away unexpectedly. Her area of expertise was the neurological pathways linking drug addiction to depression and anxiety. Her lab’s research has significant ramifications for our comprehension of the fundamental brain processes governing motivation and mood.
Dr. Chartoff’s research focuses on the roles of kappa opioid receptors in drug withdrawal-induced depressive-like states, the function of glutamatergic transmission in affective states, and sex differences in molecular and genetic contributions to addictive behaviors, all of which fall under her broader area of study.
Established in 2009, Dr. Chartoff’s Neurobiology of Motivated Behavior Laboratory employs animal behavioral models that bear significant relevance to human behavior to explore the molecular, pharmacological, and cellular processes that underlie drug dependency and withdrawal. Because there was compelling evidence of sex differences in every aspect of the addiction cycle, both preclinically and clinically, the lab conducted its investigations with both male and female participants.
Dr. Chartoff was interested in how long-term drug misuse exposure alters the brain’s cellular and molecular makeup and causes a prolonged array of depressive symptoms after the drug is stopped. These include symptoms like depression and anxiety, as well as heightened susceptibility to stress and signals connected to drugs. Collectively, these factors raise the risk of relapse. Because some brain systems’ neural circuits are critical for affect and motivated behavior and may be “hijacked” by repeated drug exposure, the lab focuses on these particular brain systems.
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