Peter Winsauer, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology

LSU Health Sciences Center
1901 Perdido Street P7-1
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 568-4740
Fax: (504) 568-2361

pwinsa@lsuhsc.edu

Degrees

Ph.D. - 1989
American University

Research Interests

Current research projects include studies on the behavioral pharmacology of serotonin receptor subtype agonists and antagonists. Specific interests include the effects of 5HT1A agonists on learning and memory processes and the effects of 5HT1A agonists and 5HT3 antagonists on measures of food intake. In general, the behavioral effects of these serotonin drugs are compared with the effects of drugs from other pharmacological classes such as the benzodiazepines. A wide range of behavioral procedures is used to assess the effects of all the compounds in question. For example, complex operant procedures are used to assess the ability of various drugs to disrupt learning. These disruptions are then directly compared with the same drug's ability to disrupt more well-learned information or performance. Previous research interests include neurotoxicology and the behavioral effects of ionizing radiation. Studies in these areas identified radiation-induced behavioral changes in learning or acquistion behavior, determined how behavioral and environmental variables could modify these changes, and evaluated radiobiological and pharmacological factors that mediate or modulate these changes.

Currently Funded Research

National Institute on Drug Abuse: Cocaine Self-Administration in Monkeys: Effects on Learning, Principal Investigator

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol, HIV Infection and Host Defense, Co-Investigator

National Institute on Drug Abuse: Effects of Cannabinoid Abuse on Learning and Memory, Co-Investigator

Selected Publications

DeLarge AF, Erwin LL, Winsauer PJ. Atypical binding at dopamine and serotonin transporters contribute to the discriminative stimulus effects of mephedrone. Neuropharmacology. 2017 Jun;119:62-75.

Maxi JK, Dean M, Zabaleta J, Reiss K, Bagby GJ, Nelson S, Winsauer PJ, Peruzzi F, Molina PE. Chronic Binge Alcohol Administration Dysregulates Hippocampal Genes Involved in Immunity and Neurogenesis in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaques. Biomolecules. 2016 Nov 9;6(4). pii: E43.

Ketchum MJ, Weyand TG, Weed PF, Winsauer PJ. Learning by subtraction: Hippocampal activity and effects of ethanol during the acquisition and performance of response sequences. Hippocampus. 2016 May;26(5):601-22.

Weed PF, Filipeanu CM, Ketchum MJ, Winsauer PJ. Chronic Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol during Adolescence Differentially Modulates Striatal CB1 Receptor Expression and the Acute and Chronic Effects on Learning in Adult Rats. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2016 Jan;356(1):20-31.

Winsauer PJ, Filipeanu CM, Weed PF, Sutton JL. Hormonal status and age differentially affect tolerance to the disruptive effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC) on learning in female rats. Front Pharmacol. 2015 Jul 2;6:133.

Hulin MW, Lawrence MN, Amato RJ, Weed PF, Winsauer PJ. Comparison of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and pregnanolone with existing pharmacotherapies for alcohol abuse on ethanol- and food-maintained responding in male rats. Alcohol. 2015 Mar;49(2):127-38.

Additional Info