Education

• B.A., University of Maryland at College Park, 1992.
• Ph.D., Indiana University, 1997.

Research Interests

• Neuromorphological, behavioral and molecular consequences of chronic, variable stress during peripubertal-juvenile period in rats.
• Animal models for individual differences in the novelty-seeking or risk-taking behavior
• Gonadal and adrenal steroid regulation of the novel estrogen receptor beta in stress relevant brain nuclei

Professional Background

• Post-Doctoral Fellowship, The University of Michigan, 2004.

Representative Peer Review Publications

• Torregrossa, M.M., Isgor, C., Rice, K.C., Watson, S.J., Woods, J.H. The delta opioid receptor antagonist (+)BW373U86 regulates BDNF mRNA expression in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 29(4):649-59, (2004).
• Isgor, C., Slomianka, L., Watson, S.J. . Hippocampal mossy fiber terminal field size is differentially affected in a rat model of risk-taking behavior. Behavioral Brain Research (In press), (2004).
• Isgor, C., Kabbaj, M., Akil, H., Watson, S.J. Delayed effects of chronic, variable stress during peripubertal-juvenile period on hippocampal morphology and on cognitive and stress axis functions in rats. Hippocampus (published online for early view on March 1, 2004).
• Isgor, C., Cecchi, M., Kabbaj, M., Akil, H., Watson, S.J. Estrogen receptor beta in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus regulates the neuroendocrine response to stress and is regulated by corticosterone. Neuroscience 121(4):837-845, (2003).
• Isgor, C., Shieh, K.R., Akil, H., Watson, S.J. Colocalization of estrogen beta-receptor messenger RNA with vasopressin, oxytocin and orphanin FQ in the rat hypothalamic paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. Anatomy and Embryology 206(6):461-469, (2003).
• Isgor, C., Sengelaub, D.R. Effects of neonatal gonadal steroids on adult CA3 pyramidal neuron dendritic morphology and spatial memory in rats. Journal of Neurobiology 55(2):179-190, (2003).
• Isgor, C., Huang, G.C., Akil, H., Watson, S.J. Correlation of estrogen beta-receptor messenger RNA with endogenous levels of plasma estradiol and progesterone in the female rat hypothalamus, the bed nucleus of stria terminalis and the medial amygdala. Molecular Brain Research 106:30-41, (2002).
• Kabbaj. M., Isgor, C., Watson, S.J., Akil, H. Stress during adolescence alters behavioral sensitization to amphetamine. Neuroscience 113(2):395-400, (2002).
• Isgor, C., Sengelaub, D.R.. Prenatal gonadal steroids affect adult spatial behavior, CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cell morphology in rats. Hormones and Behavior 34(special issue on Estrogen Effects on Cognition Across the Lifespan):183-198, (1998).