Research areas of primary interest are neurochemical and neuropharmacological investigations into the basis of brain function and behaviors. Particular areas of interest include the cholinergic system in learning and memory and changes in those systems that may be responsible for memory deterioration and dementia in brain disorders associated with aging, particularly Alzheimer's disease and related dementing disorders. The development of therapeutic drugs, drug design, and behavioral evaluation of the efficacy of drugs are the objectives of this research program. Other areas of interest include the origin and psychobiology of eating disorders and the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, a psychoactive compound in marijuana) on brain neurochemistry, mood, and function of the basal ganglia.

Borlongan, C.V., Sumaya, I., and Moss, D.E.  (2002).  Pineal gland: A novel tissue source for neural transplantation therapy in stroke.  Presented to the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, November 2-7, 2002, Orlando, FL.  Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 28, #34.11.

Byers, D.M., Moss, D.E., Irwin, L.N.  (2002).  Global patterns and functional analysis of gene expression in Alzheimer's disease.  Presented to the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, November 2-7, 2002, Orlando, FL.  Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 28, #590.15.

Sumaya, I.C., Byers, D., Moss, D.E., and Irwin, L.  (2002).  Effect of melatonin on striatial gene expression in an animal model of parkinsonism in both the light and the dark phases.  Presented to the XXXIV Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, August 21-23, 2002, Adelaide, Australia.  Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences Abstracts, 012.

Borlongan, C.V., Sumaya, I., Moss, D.E., Kumazaki, M., Sakurai, T., Hida, H., and Nishino, H.  (2002).  Intracerebral transplantation of melatonin-secreting pineal gland protects against stroke-induced deficits in rats.  Presented to the 8th International Neural Transplantation and Repair Conference, Keystone, Colorado, June 12-16, 2002.