Christopher Howard

  • Associate Professor of Neuroscience

Areas of Study

Education

  • Postdoctoral Research in Neuroscience, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 2013-2017
  • PhD, Illinois State University, 2013
  • BS, Illinois State University, 2008 
     

Biography

My lab has an overarching goal to understand how the brain regulates behavioral output. We are primarily interested in contributions of the neurotransmitter dopamine and its main target site: the striatum. These brain regions are heavily implicated in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases as well as behavioral dysregulation noted in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and drug addiction. To this end, we utilize new technologies including fiber photometery (measuring brain activity via fluorescence in the brain), optogenetics (light control of neuronal activity), immunohistochemistry (measuring gene expression in the brain), and operant behaviors in a mouse model.

Currently, my lab is working to investigate:

  1. How brain activity in the striatum and dopamine neurons contributes to movement, interval timing (keeping track of time on the scale of seconds to minutes), and associative learning
  2. Novel interventions in Parkinson’s disease- specifically if drugs that promote neurogenesis (such as psychedelics) and antioxidants act to promote development of new dopamine neurons.

These studies will provide a fundamental understanding of brain mechanisms behind many basic behaviors and provide important insights into potential therapies for neurodegenerative disorders.

I live in Oberlin with my wife Annie, my three kids Henry and George, and Kit, and our (somewhat) loyal dog Ruby.

Teaching

Neurophysiology, Introductory Neuroscience 

Research

Dopamine and action selection, habit formation, drug addiction, dopamine 
neurotransmission, Parkinson’s disease, timing (interval judgment)

  1. van der Merwe, R.K., Nadel, J.A., Copes-Finke, D., Pawelko, S., Scott, J.S., Ghanem, M., Fox, M., Morehouse, C., McLaughlin, R., Maddox, C., Albert-Lyons, R., Malaki, G., Turocy, A., Groce, V., Jin, X., Howard, C.D. Characterization of striatal dopamine projections across striatal subregions in behavioral flexibility. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2023. 58(12), 4466–4486. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15910
  2. Howard, C.D., & Simen, P. A Time to Remember: Neural Insights into Rapid Updating of Timed Behaviors. Neuroscience bulletin, 2023. 39(4), 699–702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-022-00999-3
  3. Morehouse, C.R., Maddox, C.J., van der Merwe, R.K., McLaughlin, R., Scott, J.R., Ghanem, M., McLaughlin, R., Ramsson E.S., Howard, C.D. Sex-Dependent effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on habit formation. Behavioural Brain Research. 2022. 434:114023. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114023.
  4. Hollon N.G., Williams E.W., Howard C.D., Li H., Traut, T.I., Jin X. Nigrostriatal Dopamine Signals Sequence-Specific Action-Outcome Prediction Errors. Current Biology. 2021. 31(23):5350-63 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.040. 
  5. Nadel, J.A., Pawelko, S.S., Scott, J.R., McLaughlin, R., Fox, M., Ghanem, M., van der Merwe, R., Hollon, N.G., E. S. Ramsson, Howard, C.D. Optogenetic stimulation of striatal patches modifies habit formation and inhibits dopamine release. Scientific Reports. 11: 19847 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99350-5
  6. Nadel J.A., Pawelko S.P., Copes-Finke D., Neidhart, M., Howard C.D. Lesion of striatal patches disrupts habitual behaviors and increases behavioral variability. PLoS ONE. 2020. 15(1): e0224715.
  7. Schuweiler D.R., Howard C.D., Ramsson E.S., Garris P.A. Principal Component Regression     Improves in Situ Electrode Calibration for Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry. Analytical Chemistry. 2018. 90 (22): 13434-13442.
  8. Howard, C.D.*, Li, H.*, Jin, X. Nigrostriatal dopamine biases action selection. Neuron. March 2017. 93(6):1436-1450.
    • *Co-first Author.
  9. Smith, J.B., Ross, D.L., Klug, J.K., Howard, C.D., Hollon, N.G., Ko, V.I., Hoffman, H., Callaway, E.M., Gerfen, C.R., Jin, X. Genetic-based dissection unveils the inputs and outputs of striatal patch and matrix compartments. Neuron. September 2016. 91(5):1069-84.

Fall 2024

Neurophysiology: Neurons to Networks to Cognition — NSCI 319
Studies in Neuronal Function — NSCI 321

Spring 2025

The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience — NSCI 201
Senior Seminar — NSCI 400

News

Haoyuan Gao Wins Oberlin's 2024 Nexial Prize

June 11, 2024

Haoyuan Gao ’24, a biology and neuroscience double major with minors in book studies, chemistry, and East Asian studies, has been named the winner of Oberlin’s 2024 Nexial Prize. The award is presented to an outstanding science student with aspirations for interdisciplinary research.

Paintbrush Empowerment

May 15, 2023

Mufalo Mufalo devotes the summer to empowerment through art across his native Africa.

Student-Authored CBD Study Named Editors’ Pick

November 23, 2022

Caroline Morehouse, a fourth-year Oberlin student majoring in neuroscience and Hispanic studies, was the lead author on a paper published in the neuroscience journal Behavioral Brain Research in late...

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