Publications

For reprints, contact Dr. Schmoutz

. A therapeutic combination of metyrapone and oxazepam increases brain levels of GABA-active neurosteroids and decreases cocaine self-administration in male rats. in Behavioural Brain Research, vol 291, 2015.

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. Effects of inhibitory GABA-active neurosteroids on cocaine seeking and cocaine taking in rats. in Psychopharmacology, vol 231, 2014.

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. Role of GABA-active neurosteroids in the efficacy of metyrapone against cocaine addiction. in Behavioural Brain Research, vol 271, 2014.

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. The extra-adrenal effects of metyrapone and oxazepam on ongoing cocaine self-administration. in Brain Research, vol 1575, 2014.

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. The combination of metyrapone and oxazepam for the treatment of cocaine and other drug addictions. in Advances in Pharmacology, vol 69, 2014.

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. Antagonism of the neuropeptide S receptor with RTI-118 decreases cocaine self-administration and cocaine-seeking behavior in rats. in Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, vol 103, 2012.

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Protocols

Behavioral, neurochemical, animal husbandry, and analytical techniques used by the Schmoutz Laboratory

Zebrafish Behavioral Protocols PENTYLENETETRAZOLE PREVENTION TEST Caveats and Special Instructions Prior to attempting any zebrafish behavioral experiments, you will need to review the zebrafish housing, healthcare, and handling protocols. You will also need to review the video tracking protocol to learn how to setup the camera properly to record usuable videos. Prior to testing any fish in the pentylenetetrazole prevention test, please also review these important articles which provide the critical parameters and theoretical basis for this behavioral experiment: Mussulini et al.

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Zebrafish Behavioral Protocols NOVEL TANK DIVING TEST Caveats and Special Instructions Prior to attempting any zebrafish behavioral experiments, you will need to review the zebrafish housing, healthcare and handling protocols. You will also need to review the video tracking protocol to learn how to setup the camera properly to record usuable videos. Prior to testing any fish in the novel tank diving task, please also review these important articles which provide the critical parameters and theoretical basis for this behavioral experiment: Wong et al.

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One major form of data for our lab is the recorded video files of our zebrafish behavioral experiments. Each recording of the behavioral experiments must be quantified in an objective manner to compare and understand subtle changes in the swimming behavior of the zebrafish following drug administrations or environmental manipulations. While manual scoring by human visual assessment is sometimes necessary (e.g., for aggression or seizure assays), our main goal is to automate this analysis process as much as possible to decrease human-induced bias and increase the amount of useful data that can be derived from each experiment.

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Animal protocols Zebrafish breeding and embryo care Zebrafish females may release eggs into the home tank water every morning, however these eggs need to be captured quickly to prevent the adult fish from eating them. We use a static tank and breeding insert to catch the eggs and protect them for collection. On the afternoon before eggs are to be produced, insert the breeding platform into the home tank of the fish to be bred.

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Rotifer culture Rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) Rotifers are small invertebrate zooplankton, fast swimmers, and voracious eaters; they possess a high nutritional value when fed with algae concentrates, making them an excellent first-food for raising larval zebrafish. We keep a continuous culture system thriving to provide plenty of rotifers for larval polyculture and supplemental feeding to older zebrafish. In our setup, two pumps provide constant food and oxygen to support a dense rotifer culture.

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General Laboratory Techniques Cleaning glassware and plastic buckets Any buckets, beakers, components, etc. that are used with the rotifer culture should only be rinsed and scrubbed using hot tap water (no detergent). Glassware that is used with rotifers or zebrafish can be cleaned with detergent but must be thoroughly rinsed with hot tap water to remove any remaining detergent. Any lingering detergent will harm the rotifers and/or fish on contact and/or ingestion.

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Teaching

Lecture slides, notes, and practice questions

Dr. Schmoutz lectures in the following courses at LSU Health Sciences Center:

  • MED NEURO Module 2
    • Chemical Neuroanatomy (slides, notes, practice questions)
  • IDSP 218: Nervous System
    • Cells of the Nervous System (slides, notes, practice questions)
    • Neurotransmission II: Peptides (slides, notes, practice questions)
    • Neural Plasticity (slides, notes, practice questions)
    • Learning & Memory (slides, notes, practice questions)
  • PHARM 209: Introduction to Research in Pharmacology
    • Intro to the Schmoutz Lab (slides)
  • PHARM 233: Neuropharmacology
    • Neurochemistry I (slides, notes, practice questions)
    • Neurochemistry II (slides, notes, practice questions)
  • PHARM 240: Behavioral Pharmacology - syllabus
    • Preclinical Modeling, Animal Models, and Biomarkers (slides, notes)
    • Affiliative and Social Behaviors (slides, notes)
    • Models of Learning and Memory (slides, notes)
  • PHARM 242: Pharmacology of Drugs of Abuse - syllabus
  • PHARM 245: Toxicology
    • Biotransformation II (slides, notes, practice questions)
  • PHARM 260: Molecular Pharmacology
    • GPCRs I (slides, notes, practice questions)
    • GPCRs II (slides, notes, practice questions)
    • Hormone-Receptor Interactions (slides, notes, practice questions)

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