Carrie R Ferrario, PhD
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About
The Ferrario lab integrates concepts from the addiction, learning, and feeding fields to ask new questions about the neurobiological and behavioral drivers of obesity vs. drug addiction. Specifically, we examine how alterations in glutamatergic transmission within the striatum contribute to normal and aberrant motivation. Our long-term goal is to understand how sugary, fatty foods and physiological changes accompanying obesity alter brain function and behavior, how individual susceptibility to obesity interacts with these effects, and how mechanisms underlying strong urges to eat may be similar to as well as different from those that drive abuse of addictive substances like cocaine.
Dr. Ferrario is Co-Director of the Biology of Drug Abuse NIDA-funded Postdoctoral T32
Dr. Ferrario is also a member of the following programs at the University of Michigan:
Domino Addiction Research Center
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Neuroscience Innovators
Multidisciplinary Training Program in Basic Diabetes Research
NIDA Training Program in Neuroscience
Links
Ferrario Lab twitter
Qualifications
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Postdoctoral FellowUniversity of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, United States
2008 - 2012
Postdoctoral Fellowship
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Postdoctoral FellowRosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, United States
2006 - 2008
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Center Memberships
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Center MemberCaswell Diabetes Institute
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Center MemberOpioid Research Institute
Research Overview
Neurobiology of motivation, obesity, addiction, glutamate plasticity, striatum
Recent Publications
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McCutcheon JE, Ferrario CR. Neuropharmacology, 2025 Nov 1; 278:Journal ArticleNeuropharmacology editorial
DOI:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2025.110592 PMID: 40684901 -
Finnell JE, Ferrario CR. Physiology and Behavior, 2024 Nov 7; 114729 - 114729.Journal ArticleVoluntary food restriction does not affect circulating corticosterone in obesity-prone or -resistant male and female rats
DOI:10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114729 -
Ferrario C, Münzberg H, Rinaman L, Betley JN, Borgland SL, Dus M, Fadool DA, Medler KF, Morton GJ, Sandoval DA, de La Serre CB, Stanley SA, Townsend KL, Watts AG, Maruvada P, Cummings D, Cooke B. Obesity, 2024 Jun 25; 32: 1425 - 1440.Journal ArticleObesity- and Diet-induced Plasticity in Systems that Control Eating and Energy Balance
DOI:10.1002/oby.24060 -
Goss K, Bueno-Junior LS, Stangis K, Ardoin T, Carmon H, Zhou J, Satapathy R, Baker I, Jones-Tinsley CE, Lim MM, Watson BO, Sueur C, Ferrario CR, Murphy GG, Ye B, Hu Y. 2024 Sep 30;PreprintQuantifying social roles in multi-animal videos using subject-aware deep-learning
DOI:10.1101/2024.07.07.602350 -
2024 Jun 25;PresentationEffects of Junk-food diet consumption on nucleus accumbens function and motivation in males and female rats
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2024 Jun 25;PresentationNeural processes driving over-eating
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2024 Jun 25;PresentationCocaine-induced sensitization and glutamate plasticity in the nucleus accumbens core: effects of sex
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2024 Jun 25;PresentationContributions of striatal glutamate plasticity to obesity
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