Personal profile
Research Interests
I am a neurophysiologist interested in the neurobiological mechanisms underlying motivated behaviors. My lab employs mouse behavioral neuroscience models in wildtype and transgenic mice, whole cell patch clamp electrophysiology techniques in rodent brain slices, and high-resolution microscopy to study how specific brain circuits, cell-types, and receptor systems respond to environmental stimuli to affect future behaviors. Currently, we are interested in how GABAergic interneurons are changed (i.e., receptor expression and activity, dendritic spine morphology, etc) to affect individual microcircuits in the medial prefrontal cortex following learned fear. These studies have implications for post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders.
Teaching Experience
NEUR 441 - CNS Diseases
NEUR 458 - Neuroscience Research Techniques Lab
NEUR 491 - Neuroanatomy
Education/Academic qualification
Bachelor, Physiological Pyschology, Pacific University
Doctorate, Neuroscience, Wake Forest University
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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Functional and Structural Plasticity of mPFC SST Cells During Memory Formation
Rau, A. (PI)
01/1/26 → …
Project: Research
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GluN2A-NMDA receptor inhibition disinhibits the prefrontal cortex, reduces forced swim immobility, and impairs sensorimotor gating
Dong, Y. P., Wu, Y., Zhao, Y. L., Chen, Y. M., Liu, T. Y., Zhang, Y. H., Xie, J. Y., Zhang, J. F., Zhang, H., Chen, H., Peng, Y., Zhang, C. L., Rau, A. R., Hansen, K. B., Xu, H. B. & Yi, F., Jan 2026, In: Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. 47, 1, p. 53-68 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Scopus citations -
Novel binding mode for negative allosteric NMDA receptor modulators
Lotti, J. S., Syrenne, J. T., Benton, A. J., Al-Mousawi, A., Cornelison, L. E., Trolinder, C. J., Yi, F., Zhang, Z., Yates-Hansen, C. K., McClelland, L. J., Bosco, J., Rau, A. R., Clausen, R. P. & Hansen, K. B., Jan 5 2026, In: Journal of General Physiology. 158, 1Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Correction: GluN2A-NMDA receptor inhibition disinhibits the prefrontal cortex, reduces forced swim immobility, and impairs sensorimotor gating
Dong, Y. P., Wu, Y., Zhao, Y. L., Chen, Y. M., Liu, T. Y., Zhang, Y. H., Xie, J. Y., Zhang, J. F., Zhang, H., Chen, H., Peng, Y., Zhang, C. L., Rau, A. R., Hansen, K. B., Xu, H. B. & Yi, F., Nov 4 2025, In: Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. 47, 4, p. 1074 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Corrigenda / Errata
Open Access -
Ventral tegmental area glutamate neurons mediate nonassociative consequences of stress
McGovern, D. J., Ly, A., Ecton, K. L., Huynh, D. T., Prévost, E. D., Gonzalez, S. C., McNulty, C. J., Rau, A. R., Hentges, S. T., Daigle, T. L., Tasic, B., Baratta, M. V. & Root, D. H., Jun 2024, In: Molecular Psychiatry. 29, 6, p. 1671-1682 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access12 Scopus citations -
Allosteric modulation of GluN1/GluN3 NMDA receptors by GluN1-selective competitive antagonists
Rouzbeh, N., Rau, A. R., Benton, A. J., Yi, F., Anderson, C. M., Johns, M. R., Jensen, L., Lotti, J. S., Holley, D. C. & Hansen, K. B., Jun 5 2023, In: Journal of General Physiology. 155, 6, e202313340.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access12 Scopus citations