Marie Holt

Stress is the mind and body’s response to threats, real and imagined, and continued stress can have detrimental effects on our health. Indeed, stress-related disorders, including depression and anxiety, are seen increasingly in our society. At its core, stress is beneficial: In response to stress our body launches a number of coping mechanisms, designed to increase our chances of survival. Our pulse and blood pressure increase and our behaviour changes, including how much we eat. This is normal and useful for us. However, after chronic, unrelenting stress our brains may respond inappropriately, and this can lead to cardiovascular disease and obesity. My research focusses on how specific brain pathways control the normal healthy response to stress as well as the damaging effects of chronic stress. To do this, we use transgenic mice. Transgenic mice allow us to turn brain cells on and off while monitoring behaviour, pulse, and blood pressure during stress. We use mouse models of chronic stress as well as state-of-the-art neuroscience tools to investigate the role of specific brain pathways in the regulation of 1) cardiovascular function; 2) anxiety-like behaviours; and 3) food intake and body weight