Annabel K. Short

Peptide signaling in the paraventricular thalamus contributes to disrupted adult reward behaviors after early-life adversity

The paper investigates how early-life adversity affects reward behaviors through peptide signaling in the paraventricular thalamus and identifies CRHR1 as a molecular target for intervention.

Unexpected mechanisms of sex-specific memory vulnerabilities to acute traumatic stress

The paper investigates sex differences in memory vulnerability to acute traumatic stress, finding that estrogen and its receptors play a role in both males and females.

Age-dependent tumor-immune interactions underlie immunotherapy response in pediatric cancer

This study investigates age-dependent tumor-immune interactions in pediatric cancer using mouse models and patient samples, finding that pediatric tumors have distinct immune profiles and poor response to immunotherapy, which can be improved by modulating the tumor microenvironment.

Within-subject changes in DNA-methylome profile identify individual signatures of early-life adversity, with a potential to predict neuropsychiatric outcome.

This paper identifies DNA methylation changes in children linked to early-life adversity and shows their correlation with later executive function, with sex-dependent effects.

Stress-induced plasticity of a novel CRH GABA projection disrupts reward behaviors

The paper identifies a novel stress-sensitive CRH GABA projection from the basolateral amygdala to the nucleus accumbens that contributes to reward behavior disruption following early-life adversity.

Impaired developmental microglial pruning of excitatory synapses on CRH-expressing hypothalamic neurons exacerbates stress responses throughout life

The paper shows that early-life adversity impairs microglial pruning of excitatory synapses on CRH-expressing hypothalamic neurons, leading to heightened stress responses later in life.

Single-Cell transcriptional changes in hypothalamic CRH-expressing neurons after early-life adversity inform enduring alterations in responses to stress

This study uses single-cell RNA sequencing to identify lasting transcriptional changes in hypothalamic CRH-expressing neurons after early-life adversity, linking these changes to long-term stress responses.

Early Life Adversity in Male Mice Sculpts Reward Circuits.

This study shows that early life adversity in male mice alters reward circuit connectivity and leads to anhedonia in adulthood.

Sex-dependent effects of chronic exercise on cognitive flexibility in aging mice

This study shows that chronic exercise in middle-aged mice improves cognitive flexibility in males but not females, with both sexes showing increased Bdnf mRNA expression in the hippocampus.

Short-term block of CRH receptor in adults mitigates age-related memory impairments provoked by early-life adversity

Blocking CRH receptor type 1 in adulthood mitigates age-related memory impairments caused by early-life adversity in rats, but not all memory functions.

NRSF-mediated repression of neuronal genes in developing brain persists in the absence of NRSF-Sin3 interaction

The paper investigates whether NRSF-Sin3 interaction is required for NRSF-mediated repression of target genes in developing hypothalamus and finds that blocking this interaction does not prevent repression.