Ph.D., 2017, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Dr. Fucich's scientific interests include understanding the neurobiological basis of psychiatric illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Overall, Dr. Fucich is interested in conditions that co-occur with these disorders (like stress and brain injury), pathophysiological features shared by these disorders (like prefrontal cortex and amygdala dysfunction), as well as the mechanisms of behavioral therapies used to treat these often comorbid illnesses.
Jacotte-Simancas A, Fucich EA, Stielper ZF, Molina PE. Traumatic brain injury and the misuse of alcohol, opioids, and cannabis. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2021;157:195-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn.2020.09.003
Stielper ZF, Fucich EA, Middleton JW, Hillard CJ, Edwards S, Molina PE, Gilpin NW. Traumatic brain injury and alcohol drinking alter basolateral amygdala endocannabinoids in female rats. J Neurotrauma. 2021;38(4):422-34. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2020.7175
Fucich EA, Stielper ZF, Cancienne H, Edwards S, Gilpin NW, Molina PE, Middleton JW. Endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors ameliorate neuronal and synaptic alterations following traumatic brain injury. J Neurophysiol. 2020;123(2):707-17. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00570.2019
Fucich EA*, Mayeux JP*, McGinn MA, Gilpin NW, Edwards S, Molina PE. A novel role for the endocannabinoid system in ameliorating motivation for alcohol drinking and negative behavioral affect following traumatic brain injury in rats. J Neurotrauma. 2019;36(11):1847-55. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2018.5854
Fucich EA, Morilak DA. Shock-probe defensive burying test to measure active versus passive coping style in response to an aversive stimulus in rats. Bio Protoc. 2018;8(17):e2998. https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.2998
Girotti M, Adler SM, Bulin SE, Fucich EA, Paredes D, Morilak DA. Prefrontal cortex executive processes affected by stress in health and disease. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2018;85:161-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.07.004
Fucich EA, Paredes D, Saunders MO, Morilak DA. Activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex is necessary for the therapeutic effects of extinction in rats. J Neurosci. 2018;38(6):1408-17. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0635-17.2017
Fucich EA, Paredes D, Morilak DA. Therapeutic effects of extinction learning as a model of exposure therapy in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016;41(13):3092-102. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2016.127
Thompson PM, Cruz DA, Fucich EA, Olukotun DY, Takahashi M, Itakura M. SNAP-25a/b isoform levels in human brain dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. Mol Neuropsychiatry. 2015;1(4):220-34. https://doi.org/10.1159/000441224
