Manchester Neuroscience Seminar Series - Professor Emma Robinson, FBPhS, Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of Bristol.
| Dates: | 2 April 2025 |
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| Times: | 14:00 - 15:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health |
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| Who is it for: | University staff |
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| Speaker: | Emma Robinson |
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Please join us, Wednesday 2 April 2025, for the Manchester Neuroscience Seminar Series, the speaker will be Professor Emma Robinson, FBPhS, Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of Bristol.
Title - "Turning the glass from half empty to half full: what a translational rodent model of affective biases is revealing about rapid-acting antidepressants"
Abstract - Building from the neuropsychological hypothesis of antidepressant efficacy, and tasks used in experimental medicine to quantity affective biases, we developed a novel approach to study these same process in rodents. Affective biases are observed when the emotional state of the subject biases their cognition and negative affective biases are observed in both depression and anxiety. The rodent affective bias test is a foraging-based task used to quantify affective biases associated with reward learning and memory. Using this method, we have provided strong evidence that modulation of affective biases is an important neuropsychological mechanism underlying antidepressant efficacy. We have shown that conventional versus rapid acting antidepressants (RAAD) modulate biases in different ways and these effects may explain the temporal differences in their rate of onset of clinical benefits. We have established that negative affective biases are potentiated in an early life adversity model of depression and localised the effects to a circuit involving the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala indicating construct validity. In this talk, I will summarise these findings and then present some new data exploring the neuropsychological effects of RAAD and associated underlying mechanism. Not only have we studied the NMDA antagonist, ketamine, but also the psychedelic, psilocybin and muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine. By identifying where the effects of these pharmacologically distinct treatments converge and diverge, we have been able to make an important advance in understanding how this new class of antidepressants achieve their clinical effects. These data also provide new insights into the interactions between biological and experience-dependent mechanisms which we propose underlie efficacy of RAAD.
Biog - Emma completed her BSc(Hons) and PhD in at the University of Bristol. She was awarded an RCUK Academic Fellowship in 2006 and worked at the University of Cambridge before returning to Bristol to establish her independent research group. Now based in Bristol’s School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Emma’s research investigates the mechanisms which regulate normal and pathological emotional behaviour and their interactions with antidepressants. Her work is particularly interested in developing new behavioural approaches to explore the relationship between psychological and experience-dependent mechanisms which contribute to the development and treatment of mood disorders.
This seminar will be hosted by Dr Nina Milosavljevic
When: Wednesday, 2 April 2025 | 14:00 – 15:00
Where: Michael Smith Lecture Theatre
All are welcome
Speaker
Emma Robinson
Role: Professor
Organisation: University of Bristol
Travel and Contact Information
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Michael Smith Lecture Theatre
Michael Smith Building
Manchester
