Tracie Paine

  • Associate Professor of Neuroscience

Areas of Study

Education

  • BS, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, Canada 1999
  • MA, Queen's University, Kingston ON, Canada 2001
  • PhD, Queen's University, Kingston ON, Canada 2004

Biography

Tracie Paine is a behavioral neuroscientist whose research uses a combination of behavioral and molecular biological techniques to investigate the neurobiology of cognitive functions such as attention and impulse control.

Attention and impulse control are dysregulated in a number of psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance abuse. Thus, understanding the neurobiology of these cognitive functions will ultimately lead to the development of novel, more effective treatment strategies for these conditions.

Paine has been awarded National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young investigator awards (2006, 2009) in order to pursue research investigating cortical cell signaling pathways and neural circuits regulating attention and impulse control. Her most recent publications appear in the journals Neuropsychopharmacology, Neuropharmacology and Biological Psychiatry.

Neuropharmacology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Attention, Impulse control, Substance Abuse

Paine TA, Swedlow N^, Swetschinski L^ (2017). Decreasing GABA function within the medial prefrontal cortex or basolateral amygdala decreases sociability. Behavioral Brain Research, 317, 542-552. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.10.012.

Paine TA, Cooke EK^, Lowes DC^ (2015). Effects of chronic inhibition of GABA synthesis on attention and impulse control. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 135, 97-104. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2015.05.019.

Paine TA, O’Hara A^, Lowes DC^, Plaut B^ (2015).  Effects of disrupting medial prefrontal cortex GABA transmission on decision-making in a rodent gambling task. Psychopharmacology, 232, 1755-1765. doi: 10.1007/s00213-014-3816-7

Asinof SK^, Paine TA (2014).  The 5-choice serial reaction time task: A task of attention and impulse control for rodents.  The Journal of Visualized Experiments, 90. doi: 10.3791/51574 http://www.jove.com/video/51574/the-5-choice-serial-reaction-time-task-task-attention-impulse-control

Paine TA, Asinof SK^, Diehl GW^, Frackman A^, Leffler J^ (2013).   Medial prefrontal cortex lesions impair decision-making on a rodent gambling task: reversal by D1 receptor antagonist administration. Behavioural Brain Research, 243, 247-254. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.01.018

Diehl GW^, Wachtel JM^, Paine TA (2013).  Cue-induced conditioned activity does not incubate but is mediated by the basolateral amygdala. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 104, 69-79. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2013.01.003

Asinof SK^, Paine TA (2013).  Inhibition of GABA synthesis in the prefrontal cortex increases locomotor activity but does not affect attention in the 5-choice serial reaction time task.  Neuropharmacology, 65, 39-47. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.09.009

Spring 2024

Neuroscience of Mental Health — NSCI 125
The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience — NSCI 201
Senior Seminar — NSCI 400

Fall 2024

Neuropharmacology — NSCI 325
Neuropharmacology Laboratory — NSCI 327

News

This Week in Photos: Alzheimer's Research

August 5, 2021

A picture of a student transferring an opaque substance into a gel box in a neuroscience lab serves as inspiration for this week’s photo series.