Michelle E. Page, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Drexel University College of Medicine, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy

Role of brain monoamines in stress and affective disorders 

Email, page@drexel.edu

     My primary research focus is to elucidate the role of monoamine neurotransmitter systems in the regulation of behavioral state. My longstanding interest in understanding the neural substrates underlying affective disorders has been predominantly focused on depression. Neurophysiological and neurochemical approaches are used to assess the functional status of the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in response to a variety of stressors under basal conditions and following pharmacological manipulation. Exposure to stress and the inability to adequately cope with stress are regarded as important etiological factors associated with the emergence of abnormal affective states. While it may be true that that the initial pathology can be attributed to a particular system, it is more likely that the manifestation of depressive disorders results from a disruption of the interactions of several neurotransmitter systems. The goal to further elucidate these interactions in greater detail may provide us with more effective treatment strategies. In an attempt to understand the mechanism(s) of action of different classes of antidepressants and the brain circuitry that is involved in abnormal affective states, we utilize the technique of in vivo microdialysis and HPLC to measure changes in neurotransmitter output in specific brain regions of awake, behaving animals.

Biography 

Michelle E. Page, Research Assistant Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy, received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Hahnemann University. She received post-doctoral training in Dr. Elizabeth Abercrombie's laboratory at Rutgers University and as a Research Associate in Dr. Irwin Lucki's laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Page joined the faculty at Drexel University College of Medicine in 2001.

Selected Publications 

• Cryan, J.F., O'Leary, O.F., Jin, S.-H., Friedland, J.C., Ouyang, M., Hirsch, B.R., Page, M.E., Dalvi, A., Thomas, S.A. and Lucki, I.  (2004) Norepinephrine-deficient mice lack responses to antidepressant drugs, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.  Proc Natl Acad Sci, USA 101:8186-8191.PDF
  
• Page, M.E.  (2003) The Promises and Pitfalls of Reboxetine.  CNS Drug Reviews  9:327-342.PDF
• Page ME, Brown K, and Lucki I. (2003) Simultaneous analyses of the neurochemical and behavioral effects of the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor reboxetine in a rat model of antidepressant action.  Psychopharmacology 165:194-201.PDF
• Page ME and Lucki I (2002) Effects of acute and chronic reboxetine treatment on stress-induced monoamine efflux in the rat frontal cortex. Neuropsychopharm 27: 237-247.PDF
• Page ME, Cryan JF, Sullivan A, Dalvi A and Lucki I. (2002) Behavioral and neurochemical effects of EMD68843: a combined selective inhibitor of serotonin reuptake and partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist. J Pharm Exp Ther 302: 1220-1228.PDF
• Cryan JF, Page ME, and Lucki I. (2002) Lesions of the dorsal and ventral noradrenergic bundles differentially alter the antidepressant-like effects of reboxetine. Eur J Pharmacol 436:197-205.PDF
• Mayorga AJ, Dalvi A, Page ME, Zimov-Levinson S, Hen R and Lucki I. (2001) Antidepressant-like behavioral effects of 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptor mutant mice. J Pharm Exp Ther 298:1101-1107.PDF
• Page, M.E., and Abercrombie, E.D. (1999) Discrete local application of corticotropin releasing factor increases locus coeruleus discharge and extracellular norepinephrine in the rat hippocampus. Synapse 33: 304-313.PDF
• Page ME, Detke M, Dalvi, A and Lucki I (1999) Evidence for a direct effect of serotonin in swimming behavior during the forced swim test (FST). Psychopharmacology 147:162-167.PDF

Projects

• Involvement of brain noradrenergic nuclei in nicotine addiction
• Opioid modulation of the coeruleo-cortical pathway
• Cannabinoids and brain noradrenergic function
• Corticotropin-releasing factor in prepulse inhibition
• Antidepressant effects on frontal cortical activity

People

Patrick Fitzgerald, M.S., National University of Ireland, Galway
          research scholar

Paul Szeliga, B.S., Philadelphia University
          research technician

Veronica Oropeza, B.A., Franklin and Marshall College
         doctoral student (Thomas Jefferson University)

Jennifer Lyons, B.S., Cornell University, New York, NY
         masters student

Rob Purple,  High, Chestnut Hill, PA
         high school student

Related Links

Society for Neuroscience

    Philadelphia Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience

ESA, Inc (HPLC equipment)