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Charles
Mactutus Professor Dr. Mactutus's major research interests are in the areas of drug abuse neurotoxicity (specifically through studies on development and plasticity), addictive processes (as revealed through studies of psychostimulant sensitization and sex differences therein), and NeuroAIDS. Developmental neurotoxic effects caused by maternal use of licit (nicotine, caffeine) or illicit drugs (cocaine, amphetamine) via exposure to environmental agents (e.g., passive smoking), or virotoxins (e.g., Tat and/or gp120) are one primary focus. A second focus is on the structural and neurodevelopmental basis(es) of gender differences in response to psychostimulant sensitization, such as produced by cocaine, nicotine and the amphetamines. A third focus is on NeuroAIDS; using the viral proteins tat and gp120, we are studying pediatric AIDS, HIV dementia, and potential neuroprotective agents (e.g., estrogen) that may underlie the apparent gender differences in HIV infection. At least one project in each of these focuses is funded by NIH/NIDA. Methodologically, our studies utilize a pronounced multidisciplinary approach. The program currently employs behavioral (spatial memory, conditioning, auditory startle), anatomical (immunocytochemistry, cell counting, cellular and subcellular morphometric analyses), pharmacological (GC/MS, blood gas analyses, in vivo drug probes, receptor binding and autoradiography, neurochemical enzyme activity and Western blotting), and molecular biological techniques (in situ hybridization and Northern blotting). Imaging (e.g., MRI) and gene chip technologies also are most recently being employed for our research. |
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