Timothy Saurer, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Interests
Opioid drugs interfere with the brain’s regulatory control of the immune system, typically producing immunosuppressive effects. Because opioid drugs are commonly used both medically and recreationally worldwide, a great deal of interest has been generated in determining the health consequences of opioid use. My primary research interests concern the neurobiological mechanisms whereby opioids such as morphine and heroin disrupt normal immunologic functioning. Specifically, my graduate studies have focused on the role of the nucleus accumbens as a neural substrate of opioid mediated immunomodulation. Our findings indicate that the activation of dopamine D1 receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell is critical for the induction of morphine-induced immune alterations. Recent results further suggest that neuropeptide Y – a sympathetic peptide transmitter in the peripheral nervous system – mediates the dopamine-dependent effects of opioids on immune status. We are currently expanding these findings to provide a broader evaluation of the role of the nucleus accumbens in opioid mediated immunomodulation by assessing the effects of heroin in a model of Gram-negative bacterial infection. In addition, we are also investigating whether environmental stimuli that predict morphine produce conditioned immune alterations by activating similar neural circuits as exogenous opioids.
Selected Publications
Saurer TB and Lysle DT. (2007) Opioid-induced Immunomodulation. Immunotoxicology and Immunopharmacology 3rd ed. 171-184, CRC Press
Saurer TB, Ijames SG, Lysle DT. (2006) Neuropeptide Y Y1 receptors mediate morphine-induced reductions of natural killer cell activity. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 177, 18-26.
Saurer TB, Carrigan KA, Ijames SG, Lysle DT. (2006) Suppression of natural killer cell activity by morphine is mediated by the nucleus accumbens shell. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 173, 3-11.
Saurer TB, Carrigan KA, Ijames SG, Lysle DT. (2004) Morphine-induced alterations of immune status are blocked by the dopamine D2-like receptor agonist 7-OH-DPAT. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 148, 54-62.
Carrigan KA, Saurer TB, Ijames SG, Lysle DT. (2004) Buprenorphine produces naltrexone reversible alterations of immune status. International Immunopharmacology. 4, 419-428.
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