John Salamone

Professor and Director of Behavioral Neuroscience

Psychological Sciences


Research Interests

  • Psychopharmacology and drug development
  • Neurochemistry, signal transduction, and behavior
  • Behavioral functions of dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and adeenosine
  • Animal models of Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, fatigue

Teaching

Undergraduate

  • General Psychology I
  • Drugs and Behavior
  • Drugs and Behavior Laboratory

Graduate

  • Foundations of Neuropsychology
  • Neuropsychopharmacology

Publications

Representative

Mingote S, Font L, Farrar AM, Vontell R, Worden L, Stopper CM, Port RG, Sink KS, Bunce JG, Chrobak JJ, Salamone JD (2008) Nucleus accumbens adenosine A2A receptors regulate exertion of effort by acting on the ventral striatopallidal pathway. J Neuroscience 28: 9037-9046.

Betz AJ, Vontell R, Valenta J, Worden L, Sink KS, Font L, Correa M, Sager TN, Salamone JD (2009) Effects of the adenosine A(2A) antagonist KW-6002 (istradefylline) on pimozide-induced oral tremor and striatal c-Fos expression: comparisons with the muscarinic antagonist tropicamide. Neuroscience 163: 97-108.

Segovia KN, Correa M, Lennington JB, Conover JC, Salamone JD (2012) Changes in nucleus accumbens and neostriatal c-Fos and DARPP-32 immunoreactivity during different stages of food-reinforced instrumental training. European Journal Neuroscience 35:1354-1367.

Salamone JD, Correa M (2012) Dopamine and Food Addiction: Lexicon Badly Needed. Biol Psychiatry 73(9):e15-24.

Salamone JD, Correa M (2012) The mysterious motivational functions of mesolimbic dopamine. Neuron 76(3):470-485.

Collins-Praino LE, Paul NE, Ledgard F, Podurgiel SJ, Kovner R, Baqi Y, Müller CE, Senatus PB, Salamone JD (2013) Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus reverses oral tremor in pharmacological models of parkinsonism: interaction with the effects of adenosine A2A antagonism. Eur J Neurosci 38(1):2183-2191.

Nunes EJ, Randall PA, Hart EE, Freeland C, Yohn SE, Baqi Y, Müller CE, López-Cruz L, Correa M, Salamone JD (2013) Effort-related motivational effects of the VMAT-2 inhibitor tetrabenazine: implications for animal models of the motivational symptoms of depression. J Neurosci 33(49):19120-19130.

Randall PA, Lee CA, Nunes EJ, Yohn SE, Nowak V, Khan B, Shah P, Pandit S, Vemuri VK, Makriyannis A, Baqi Y, Müller CE, Correa M, Salamone JD (2014) The VMAT-2 inhibitor tetrabenazine affects effort-related decision making in a progressive ratio/chow feeding choice task: reversal with antidepressant drugs. PLoS One 9(6):e99320.

Randall PA, Lee CA, Podurgiel SJ, Hart E, Yohn SE, Jones M, Rowland M, López-Cruz L, Correa M, Salamone JD (2015) Bupropion increases selection of high effort activity in rats tested on a progressive ratio/chow feeding choice procedure: implications for treatment of effort-related motivational symptoms. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 18(2):1-11. doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyu017.

Podurgiel SJ, Milligan MN, Yohn SE, Purcell LJ, Contreras-Mora HM, Correa M, Salamone JD (2015) Fluoxetine administration exacerbates oral tremor and striatal dopamine depletion in a rodent pharmacological model of Parkinsonism. Neuropsychopharmacology 40(9):2240-2247.

Long LL, Podurgiel SJ, Haque AF, Errante EL, Chrobak JJ, Salamone JD (2016) Subthalamic and Cortical Local Field Potentials Associated with Pilocarpine-Induced Oral Tremor in the Rat. Front Behav Neurosci 10:123.

Yohn SE, Collins SL, Contreras-Mora HM, Errante EL, Rowland MA, Correa M, Salamone JD (2016) Not all antidepressants are created equal: Differential effects of monoamine uptake inhibitors on effort-related choice behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology 41(3):686-694.

Yohn SE, Errante EL, Rosenbloom-Snow A, Sommerville M, Rowland MA, Tokarski K, Zafar N, Correa M, Salamone JD (2016) Blockade of uptake for dopamine, but not norepinephrine or 5-HT, increases selection of high effort instrumental activity: implications for treatment of effort-related motivational symptoms in psychopathology. Neuropharmacology 109: 270-280.

Yohn SE, Arif Y, Haley A, Tripodi G, Baqi Y, Müller CE, Miguel NS, Correa M, Salamone JD (2016) Effort-related motivational effects of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6: pharmacological and neurochemical characterization. Psychopharmacology 233(19-20):3575-3586.

Salamone JD, Yohn S, Lopez-Cruz L, San Miguel N, Correa M (2016) Activational and effort-related aspects of motivation: neural mechanisms and implications for psychopathology. Brain 139(Pt 5): 1325-1347.

Salamone JD, Correa M, Ferrigno S, Yang JH, Rotolo RA, Presby RE (2018) The Psychopharmacology of Effort-Related Decision Making: Dopamine, Adenosine, and Insights into the Neurochemistry of Motivation. Pharmacol Rev 70(4):747-762.

Rotolo RA, Dragacevic V, Kalaba P, Urban E, Zehl M, Roller A, Wackerlig J, Langer T, Pistis M, De Luca MA, Caria F, Schwartz R, Presby RE, Yang JH, Samels S, Correa M, Lubec G, Salamone JD (2019) The Novel Atypical Dopamine Uptake Inhibitor (S)-CE-123 Partially Reverses the Effort-Related Effects of the Dopamine Depleting Agent Tetrabenazine and Increases Progressive Ratio Responding. Front Pharmacol 10:682.

Presby RE, Rotolo RA, Yang JH, Correa M, Salamone JD (2020) Lisdexamfetamine suppresses instrumental and consummatory behaviors supported by foods with varying degrees of palatability: Exploration of a binge-like eating model. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 189:172851.

Yang JH, Presby RE, Jarvie AA, Rotolo RA, Fitch RH, Correa M, Salamone JD (2020) Pharmacological studies of effort-related decision making using mouse touchscreen procedures: effects of dopamine antagonism do not resemble reinforcer devaluation by removal of food restriction. Psychopharmacology 237(1): 33-43.

Rotolo RA, Kalaba P, Dragacevic V, Presby RE, Neri J, Robertson E, Yang JH, Correa M, Bakulev V, Volkova NN, Pifl C, Lubec G, Salamone JD (2020) Behavioral and dopamine transporter binding properties of the modafinil analog (S, S)-CE-158: reversal of the motivational effects of tetrabenazine and enhancement of progressive ratio responding. Psychopharmacology 237(11):3459-3470.

Yang JH, Presby RE, Cayer S, Rotolo RA, Perrino PA, Fitch RH, Correa M, Chesler EJ, Salamone JD (2020) Effort-related decision making in humanized COMT mice: Effects of Val158Met polymorphisms and possible implications for negative symptoms in humans. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 196:172975.

Yang JH, Presby RE, Rotolo RA, Quiles T, Okifo K, Zorda E, Fitch RH, Correa M, Salamone JD (2020) The dopamine depleting agent tetrabenazine alters effort-related decision making as assessed by mouse touchscreen procedures. Psychopharmacology 237(9):2845-2854.

Presby RE, Rotolo RA, Hurley EM, Ferrigno SM, Murphy CE, McMullen HP, Desai PA, Zorda EM, Kuperwasser FB, Carratala-Ros C, Correa M, Salamone JD (2021) Sex differences in lever pressing and running wheel tasks of effort-based choice behavior in rats: Suppression of high effort activity by the serotonin transport inhibitor fluoxetine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 202:173115.

Rotolo RA, Presby RE, Tracy O, Asar S, Yang JH, Correa M, Murray F, Salamone JD (2021) The novel atypical dopamine transport inhibitor CT-005404 has pro-motivational effects in neurochemical and inflammatory models of effort-based dysfunctions related to psychopathology. Neuropharmacology 183:108325.


Honors and Awards

  • Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor
  • University of Connecticut Alumni Association Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching at the Undergraduate Level, 2002.
  • Joseph V. Brady Significant Research Contribution Award, 2015
  • Editorial Board: Behavioural Brain Research, Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, Frontiers in Behaviorial Neuroscience
John Salamone
Contact Information
Emailjohn.salamone@uconn.edu
Phone860.486.4302
Mailing AddressUnit 1020
Office LocationBousfield 116
CampusStorrs