Education

Postdoctoral
Yale University

Ph.D.
University Illinois - Champaign

BS
Muskingum College

Research Focus

 My lab investigates the neurochemical underpinnings of anxiety- and stress-related behaviors, with an emphasis on individual differences in neural systems that may represent risk factors for disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our current studies examine individual variation and sex differences in various animal models of stress-related behaviors, including fear learning and extinction and predator stress.  A major focus is the role of the cholinergic system in modulating individual differences in fear extinction, including how sleep dysregulation contributes to individual variation in fear learning and extinction.  Collaborative studies investigate interactions between the cholinergic system, the orextin/hypocretin system and the kynurenine pathway in sleep and fear learning/extinction.

The lab has examined the role of neuropeptides and the amygdala in stress-induced behavioral and endocrine responses, as well as actions of anxiety-reducing modalities such as the Valium-like benzodiazepines, and alcohol. These studies focused on  the opioid peptide enkephalin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), and corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH). The project utilizes a multidisciplinary approach highlighted by virus-mediated gene transfer technology in combination with behavioral analyses, pharmacological interventions, neurochemical assays including in vivo microdialysis or fiber photometry, anatomical analyses, and molecular assessments of expression changes.

Recent Publications

•  Tryon SC, Sakamoto IM, Kaigler KF, Gee G, Turner J, Bartley K, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. ChAT::Cre transgenic rats show sex-dependent altered fear behaviors, ultrasonic vocalizations and cholinergic marker expression. Genes Brain Behav. 2023 Feb;22(1):e12837. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12837. Epub 2023 Jan 13. PubMed PMID: 36636833; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9994175.
• Tryon SC, Sakamoto IM, Kellis DM, Kaigler KF, Wilson MA. Individual Differences in Conditioned Fear and Extinction in Female Rats. Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:740313. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.740313. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34489657; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8418198.
• Kellis DM, Kaigler KF, Witherspoon E, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Cholinergic neurotransmission in the basolateral amygdala during cued fear extinction. Neurobiol Stress. 2020 Nov;13:100279. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100279. eCollection 2020 Nov. PubMed PMID: 33344731; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7739185.
• Wilson MA, McDonald AJ. The Amygdalar Opioid System. In: Urban J, Rosenkranz A, editors. Handbook of Amygdala Structure and Function Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press; 2020. Chapter 8; p.161-212.
• Carrero JP, Kaigler KF, Hartshorn GH, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Mu opioid receptor regulation of glutamate efflux in the central amygdala in response to predator odor. Neurobiol Stress. 2019 Nov;11:100197. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2019.100197. eCollection 2019 Nov. PubMed PMID: 31832510; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6888766.
• Wilson MA, Liberzon I, Lindsey ML, Lokshina Y, Risbrough VB, Sah R, Wood SK, Williamson JB, Spinale FG. Common pathways and communication between the brain and heart: connecting post-traumatic stress disorder and heart failure. Stress. 2019 Sep;22(5):530-547. doi: 10.1080/10253890.2019.1621283. Epub 2019 Jun 4. Review. PubMed PMID: 31161843; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6690762.
• Macht VA, Woodruff JL, Maissy ES, Grillo CA, Wilson MA, Fadel JR, Reagan LP. Pyridostigmine bromide and stress interact to impact immune function, cholinergic neurochemistry and behavior in a rat model of Gulf War Illness. Brain Behav Immun. 2019 Aug;80:384-393. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.04.015. Epub 2019 Apr 3. PubMed PMID: 30953774; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6790976.
• Finnell JE, Muniz BL, Padi AR, Lombard CM, Moffitt CM, Wood CS, Wilson LB, Reagan LP, Wilson MA, Wood SK. Essential Role of Ovarian Hormones in Susceptibility to the Consequences of Witnessing Social Defeat in Female Rats. Biol Psychiatry. 2018 Sep 1;84(5):372-382. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.01.013. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PubMed PMID: 29544773; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6067999.
• Butler RK, Oliver EM, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Hemispheric differences in the number of parvalbumin-positive neurons in subdivisions of the rat basolateral amygdala complex. Brain Res. 2018 Jan 1;1678:214-219. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2017.10.028. Epub 2017 Oct 28. PubMed PMID: 29107660; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5714668.
• Sharko AC, Fadel JR, Kaigler KF, Wilson MA. Activation of orexin/hypocretin neurons is associated with individual differences in cued fear extinction. Physiol Behav. 2017 Sep 1;178:93-102. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.10.008. Epub 2016 Oct 13. PubMed PMID: 27746261; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5391308.
• Wilson MA, Fadel JR. Cholinergic regulation of fear learning and extinction. J Neurosci Res. 2017 Mar;95(3):836-852. doi: 10.1002/jnr.23840. Epub 2016 Oct 5. Review. PubMed PMID: 27704595; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5241223.
• Wilson MA, Reagan LP. Special Issue: New Perspectives in PTSD. Exp Neurol. 2016 Oct;284(Pt B):115-118. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2016.09.011. PubMed PMID: 27719965.
• Butler RK, Oliver EM, Sharko AC, Parilla-Carrero J, Kaigler KF, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Activation of corticotropin releasing factor-containing neurons in the rat central amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis following exposure to two different anxiogenic stressors. Behav Brain Res. 2016 May 1;304:92-101. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.01.051. Epub 2016 Jan 25. PubMed PMID: 26821289; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4789084.
• Sharko AC, Kaigler KF, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Ethanol-induced anxiolysis and neuronal activation in the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Alcohol. 2016 Feb;50:19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2015.11.001. Epub 2015 Nov 26. PubMed PMID: 26775553; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4753081.
• Butler RK, White LC, Frederick-Duus D, Kaigler KF, Fadel JR, Wilson MA. Comparison of the activation of somatostatin- and neuropeptide Y-containing neuronal populations of the rat amygdala following two different anxiogenic stressors. Exp Neurol. 2012 Nov;238(1):52-63. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.08.002. Epub 2012 Aug 17. PubMed PMID: 22917777; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3456992.

Find Dr. Wilson on PubMed

Lab Members

• Kris F. Kaigler - Research Specialist II