Roberto Melendez, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Contact Information
melendez@musc.edu
843-792-5945
843-792-7353
Education
B.S., Chemistry, 1996, University of South Florida
B.A., Psychology, 1998, Purdue University
Ph.D., Psychobiology, 2003, Purdue University
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2003-2006, Medical University of South Carolina
Research Interests
Neurobiology of alcohol addiction
In-vivo modeling of excessive alcohol consumption in C57 mice
Glutamate transporters, homeostasis, and plasticity
Microarray gene expression profiling and bioinformatics
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Swithers S.E., Melendez R.I., Watkins B.A., Davis R.J. (2001) Metabolic and behavioral responses in pre-weanling rats following alteration of maternal diet. Physiology and Behavior 72: 147-157.
Melendez R.I., Rodd-Henricks Z.A., Engleman E., Li TK., McBride J.M., Murphy J.M. (2002) Microdialysis of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens of alcohol preferring (P) rats during anticipation and operant self-administration of ethanol. Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research 26: 318-325.
Rodd-Henricks Z.A., Melendez R.I., Zaffaroni A., Goldstein A., McBride W.J., Li TK. (2002) The reinforcing effects of acetaldehyde in the posterior ventral tegmental area of alcohol preferring rats.Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior 72: 55-64.
Rodd-Henricks Z.A., McKinzie D.L., Melendez R.I., Berry N., Murphy J.M., McBride W.J. (2003) Effects of serotonin-3 receptor antagonists on the intracranial self-administration of ethanol within the ventral tegmental area of wistar rats. Psychopharmacology 165: 252-9.
Melendez R.I., Rodd-Henricks Z.A., McBride W.J., Murphy J.M. (2003) Alcohol stimulates the release of dopamine in the ventral pallidum but not in the globus pallidus: a dual probe microdialysis study. Neuropsychopharmacology 28: 939-46.
Melendez R.I., Kalivas P.W. (2003) Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor regulation of extracellular glutamate levels in the prefrontal cortex. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 1003, 204.
Moran M.M., Melendez R.I., Baker D. Kalivas P.W., Seamans J.K. (2003) Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 1003, 445-7
Melendez R.I., Gregory M.L., Bardo M.T., Kalivas P.W. (2004) Impoverished rearing environment alters metabotropic glutamate receptor expression and function in the prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychopharmacology, 29: 1980-7.
Rodd ZA, Bell RL, Melendez RI, Kuc KA, Lumeng L, Li TK, Murphy JM, McBride WJ (2004) Comparison of intracranial self-administration of ethanol within the posterior ventral tegmental area between alcohol-preferring and wistar Rats. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research 28:1212-1219.
Melendez R.I., Rodd-Henricks Z.A., McBride W.J., Murphy J.M. (2004) Involvement of the mesopallidal dopamine system of alcohol preferring (P) rats in the reinforcing effects of ethanol. Alcohol 32, 137-44.
Rodd-Henricks Z.A., Melendez R.I., Murphy J.M., McBride W.J. (2004) Intracranial self-administration of ethanol within the ventral tegmental area of male Wistar rats: evidence for involvement of dopamine neurons. Journal of Neuroscience 24,1050-7.
Melendez R.I., Kalivas P.W. (2004) Last call for adenosine transporters. Nature Neuroscience, 7:795-6.
Melendez R.I., Rodd-Henricks Z.A., McBride W.J., Murphy J.M. (2005) Dopamine receptor regulation of ethanol intake and extracellular dopamine levels in the ventral pallidum of alcohol preferring (P) rats. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 77:293-301.
Melendez R.I., Vuthiganon, J., Kalivas P.W. (2005) Regulation of extracellular glutamate in the prefrontal cortex: Focus on Cystine Glutamate Exchanger and Group I Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 314:139-47.
Moran, M.. McFarland K., Melendez R.I., Kalivas, P.W., Seamans J.K. (2005) Cystine/glutamate receptor presynaptic inhibition of excitatory transmission and vulnerability to cocaine seeking. Journal of Neuroscience, 25:6389-93.
Melendez R.I., Hicks, M.P., Cagles, S.S., Kalivas P.W. (2005) Ethanol exposure decreases glutamate uptake in the nucleus accumbens. Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research, 29:326-33.
Paccioni A.M., Vallone J., Melendez R.I., Shih A., Murphy T.H., Kalivas P.W. (2006) Nrf2 gene deletion fails to alter psychostimulant-induced behavior or neurotoxity. Brain Research, 1127:26-35.
Melendez R.I., Middaugh L.D., Kalivas P.W. (2006) Development of an alcohol deprivation and escalation effect in C57BL/6J mice. Alcoholism Clinical & Experimental Research, 30: 2017-25.