Stress is an evolutionarily conserved behavioral state that is key to survival, yet this same experience negatively impacts numerous diseases. Stress is inextricably linked to affective disorders and substance use disorders as it can cause and exacerbate the severity of symptoms. Despite this impact, the fundamental neurocircuitry recruited while experiencing this distinct stressed state is unclear. How does stress impact the brain at a molecular and circuit level before stress-related disorders manifest? The Centanni Lab is driven by this fundamental question with the overarching goal of uncovering new diagnostic and interventional strategies for affective disorders and substance use disorders.
Centanni Lab
Neurobiology of stress and alcohol use disorder
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
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Our Research
Stress and the insula
We tag the neurons that switch on during stress and follow how they reshape insular cortex circuits.
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We record and control insula circuits, including inputs from somatosensory cortex and the basolateral amygdala and outputs to the BNST, during stress, drinking, and abstinence.
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Brain-wide imaging of stress and alcohol responses
We make intact brains transparent and use light sheet microscopy to see where stress and alcohol activate neurons across the brain.
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Stay Connected with the Lab
Our research is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIAAA), the Whitehall Foundation, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the Errett Fisher Foundation, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.