Jessica R. Barson

Jessica Barson is an American neuroscientist and associate professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. Barson investigates neuropeptide signaling in the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus as well as the nucleus accumbens to understand the neurobiological basis of addiction and elucidate targets for therapy.

Early life and education From an early age, Barson was interested in the brain. She decided to pursue her undergraduate studies in psychology at Columbia College, Columbia University. During her time at Columbia, Barson worked in the lab of Geraldine Downey as a research assistant studying social psychology and developmental psychopathology. During the later part of her time at Columbia, Barson worked in the lab of Jon Horvitz studying the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. Barson obtained her B.A. and graduated summa cum laude from Columbia in 2000 as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. She trained under the mentorship of Bart G. Hoebel studying the regulation of alcohol intake by dietary fat and fat-stimulated neuropeptides. In 2006, Barson obtained her Master of Arts in Psychology and Neuroscience, and then in 2009, Barson obtained her Ph.D in Psychology and Neuroscience. Barson completed her postdoctoral studies in 2014. There exists a positive behavioral feedback loop with fat consumption such that fat intake leads to increased consummatory behavior due to orexin and opioid release in the brain. Since both fat and alcohol appear to increase blood triglyceride levels, Barson administered a triglyceride lowering drug called Gemfibrozil which caused a significant reduction in orexigenic peptide and reduced ethanol intake.

Neural basis of feeding and reward During her postdoctoral studies at Rockefeller, Barson continued to follow up on her graduate work, exploring mechanistically the regulation of neuropeptides in the regulation of addiction and food consumption. Previous studies showed that, just like the opioid enkephalin, galanin and orexin are also stimulated by dietary fats. Following up on this knowledge, Barson and her team explored which areas of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are specifically stimulated by high-fat diets as well as exploring whether the ligands or receptors for galanin and orexin are over-expressed in these areas. Since alcoholism, and other addictive disorders, show significant variability in both propensity towards addiction and effects of treatments, it is essential to probe the underlying biology of these differences in order to better treat addiction in the fashion of personalized medicine. In addition to conducting research and teaching, Barson is an editor for Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Frontiers in Neuroscience, and previously Frontiers in Psychology. She is also a guest editor for Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience and Brain Research. Barson became interested in exploring the role of this region in drug and ethanol consumption due to the orexin projections it receives from the hypothalamus and its high level of orexin receptor expression. They found that rats exhibiting high levels of rearing were high ethanol consumers, and had lower levels of NT in the posterior PVT compared to rats with moderate levels of rearing. Barson's findings have highlighted another way in which the PVT may function in the pathogenesis of alcohol consumptive behaviors. and the Inquirer, where she describes how her findings lead to an increased understanding of the connection between alcohol consumption and binge eating, as well as alcohol consumption and the reliability of memory. Further, Barson participates in local science communication initiatives such as the Taste of Science, where she speaks about her work to the public, educating them on why we might choose unhealthy options to snack on after binge drinking rather than healthy options. Barson is also actively involved in advocating for gender equity in academia. As a member of the Society for Neuroscience and as a mother in science, Barson was invited to speak at the “Fixing the Leaky Pipeline for Women in Science” annual meeting discussing the issues facing new mothers in academia. 2019 Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar (EWIS) AAMC 2012 Research Society on Alcoholism Junior Investigator Award NIAAA 2006/7 Psychology Department Award for Excellence in Teaching – Princeton University

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Pandey S, Badve PS, Curtis GR, Leibowitz SF & Barson JR (2019). Neurotensin in the posterior thalamic paraventricular nucleus: Inhibitor of pharmacologically-relevant ethanol drinking. Addiction Biology, 24(1), 3–16. Gupta A*, Gargiulo AT*, Curtis G, Badve PS, Pandey S & Barson JR (2018). Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-27 (PACAP-27) in the thalamic paraventricular nucleus is stimulated by ethanol drinking. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42(9), 1650–60. Barson JR, Poon K, Ho HT, Alam M, Sanzalone L & Leibowitz SF (2017). Substance P in the anterior thalamic paraventricular nucleus: Role in ethanol drinking in relation to orexin from the hypothalamus. Addiction Biology, 22(1), 58–69. Barson JR & Leibowitz SF (2015). GABA-induced inactivation of dorsal midline thalamic subregions has distinct effects on emotional behavior. Neuroscience Letters, 609 (16 November 2015), 92–6. Barson JR, Ho HT & Leibowitz SF (2015). Anterior thalamic paraventricular nucleus is involved in intermittent access ethanol drinking: Role of orexin receptor 2. Addiction Biology, 20(3), 469–81. Barson JR, Fagan SE, Chang G-Q & Leibowitz SF (2013). Neurochemical heterogeneity of rats predicted by different measures to be high ethanol consumers. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37(S1), E141–51. Barson JR, Karatayev O, Gaysinskaya O, Chang G-Q & Leibowitz SF (2012). Effect of dietary fatty acid composition on food intake, triglycerides, and hypothalamic peptides. Regulatory Peptides, 173(1–3), 13–20. Barson JR, Chang G-Q, Poon K, Morganstern I & Leibowitz SF (2011). Galanin and the orexin 2 receptor as possible regulators of enkephalin in the PVN: Relation to dietary fat. Neuroscience, 193, 10–20. Barson JR, Carr AJ, Sound JE, Sobhani NC, Leibowitz SF & Hoebel BG (2010). Opioids in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus stimulate ethanol intake. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34(2), 214–22. Barson JR, Carr AJ, Sound JE, Sobhani NC, Leibowitz SF & Hoebel BG (2009). Opioids in the nucleus accumbens stimulate ethanol intake. Physiology & Behavior, 98(4), 453–9. Barson JR, Karatayev O, Chang G-Q, Johnson DF, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG & Leibowitz SF (2009). Positive relationship between dietary fat, ethanol intake, triglycerides, and hypothalamic peptides: Counteraction by lipid-lowering drugs. Alcohol, 42(6), 433–41.