Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252 USA
Office: Smith 349
Phone: 410-704-4117
Fax: 410-704-2405
email: evaidya@towson.edu
Education:
Postdoc National Institute on Drug Abuse
Ph.D. University of Cincinnati
B.S. Transylvania University
Courses Taught:
Biol 213/214 - Anatomy & Physiology I and II
Research Interests:
As a behavioral neuroscientist my main endeavor is to understand the neural mechanisms responsible for feeding, and how these may overlap with brain circuits involved in the motivation to abuse drugs. In the simplest terms, drug abuse is thought to occur because the brain’s natural reward circuits are hijacked by pharmacological agents. Thus, in order to comprehend why a person abuses drugs, we must first understand how the brain regulates consumption of a natural reward, such as food. My studies are guided by the theory that systems that evolved to regulate energy balance likely also contribute to the motivation to abuse drugs. Currently, I am setting up my lab at Towson. I look forward to working with undergraduate and graduate students as my experiments get underway.
Projects:
1. Investigation of the neural circuits involved in the development of binge-feeding disorder and how these circuits may overlap with those involved
in alcohol drinking, or cocaine self-administration in a rodent model.
2. Exploring the role of neuropeptides involved in energy balance in the consumption of palatable food, and the self-administration of cocaine or
alcohol in rodent models.
Techniques:
behavioral analysis
drug self-administration/operant box training
anxiety/depression assessments
social interaction
rodent surgeries
intracranial cannula placement
jugular catheter placement
gastric fistula/catheter placement
physiological analysis
measurement of hormones
measurement of temperature
histological analysis
immunohistochemical analysis of brain tissue
Publications:
Duncan, E.A., Sorrell, J.E., Adamantidis, A., Rider, T., Jandacek, R. J., Seeley, R. J., Lakaye, B., Woods, S.C. (2007). Alcohol drinking in MCH
receptor-1-deficient mice, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 31, 1325-37.
Duncan, E.A., Rider, T.R., Jandacek, R.J., Clegg, D.J., Benoit, S.C., Tso, P., Woods, S.C. (2006). The regulation of alcohol intake by melanin-concentrating
hormone in rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Behavior, 85, 728-35.
Duncan, E. A., Tamashiro, K. L. K., Nguyen, M. N., Gardner, S. R., Woods, S. C., and Sakai, R. R. (2006). The impact of daily alcohol consumption on
aggression and the formation of dominance hierarchies in rats, Psychopharmacology, 189, 83-94.
Duncan, E. A., Proulx, K., and Woods, S.C. (2005). Central administration of melanin-concentrating hormone increases alcohol and sucrose/quinine intake
in rats, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 29, 958-64.
Duncan, E. A., Davita, G., and Woods, S.C. (2005). Changes in the satiating effect of cholecystokinin over repeated trials, Physiology & Behavior, 85, 387-93.
Graduate Student Projects:
Undergraduate Student Projects: