Samantha Scudder

sscudder@csudh.edu

EDUCATION:

RESEARCH INTERESTS: 

Each neuron in the brain is capable of forming and maintaining thousands of connections with other cells. Most of these synapses have the remarkable capacity to change in the face of new external stimuli and throughout various stages of development. Such plasticity is vital for allowing an organism to properly mature, survive, and learn to interact with its environment. The overarching goal of my research is to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying changes in the brain during development, learning, and exposure to drugs of abuse. My group’s research spans three domains of plasticity: (1) developmental maturation of excitatory synapses in late adolescence; (2) activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength at mature synapses; (3) drug-evoked plasticity at excitatory synapses in response to substances like ethanol. Our work utilizes a combination of biochemical assays, anatomical tracing, immunofluorescent imaging, rodent behavior, and electrophysiology in acute brain slices from rodents.  

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS:

Baimel, C., Jang, E., Scudder, S.L., Manoocheri, K., Carter, A.G. (2022). “Hippocampal-evoked inhibition of cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens.” Cell Reports: 40(1), 111042. 

*Scudder, S.L., *Gonzales, F.R., Howell, K.K., Stein, I.S., Dozier, L.E., Anagnostaras, S.G., Zito, K., Patrick, G.N. (2021). “Altered phosphorylation of the proteasome subunit Rpt6 has minimal impact on synaptic plasticity and learning.” eNeuro: 0073-20.2021. *Co-first author 

Scudder, S.L., Baimel, C., Macdonald, E.E., Carter, A.G. (2018). “Hippocampal-Evoked Feedforward Inhibition in the Nucleus Accumbens.” Journal of Neuroscience: 38(42); 9091-9104.  

Scudder, S.L., Patrick, G.N. (2015). “Synaptic structure and function are altered by the neddylation inhibitor MLN4924.” Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience: 65; 52-57. 

Scudder, S.L., Goo, M.S., Cartier, A.E., Molteni, A., Schwarz, L.A., Wright, R., Patrick, G.N. (2014). “Synaptic strength is bidirectionally controlled by opposing activity-dependent regulation of Nedd4-1 and USP8.” Journal of Neuroscience: 34(50); 16637-49.  

TEACHING:

PSY 320: Psychopharmacology 

PSY 240: Biopsychology