Phil Holmes, Ph.D.
Psychology
Phone: (706) 542-3105
pvholmes@uga.edu

I am a behavioral neuroscientist and psychopharmacologist, and I study the neurochemical basis of motivation and emotion. One of the projects underway in my laboratory examines neurotransmitter dysregulation in the limbic system occurring in rat models of depression. This project aims to determine how changes enkephalin and neuropetide-Y gene expression in the ventral striatum and piriform cortex may mediate abnormal, hyperactive responses to stress, or “agitation-like” behavior in rats. Another project in my laboratory examines the neurobiological basis for the comorbidity of depression and drug abuse. I am also employing animal models to study the neurobiological systems that mediate the antidepressant effects of physical exercise.

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