I'm interested in understanding the genetic, molecular and neural mechanisms underlying reward. We investigate how memories for appetitive stimuli are encoded in the brain and how drugs of abuse affect the molecular pathways in these circuits to result in aberrant motivational response. We combine genetics, behavior, in vivo imaging in behaving animals, molecular biology and biochemistry to address this. Find out more at kaunlab.com.
| Scaplen KM, Kaun KR. "Dopamine determines how reward overrides risk." Nature, vol. 623, no. 7986, 2023, pp. 258-259. |
| Hernandez, John S., Brown, Tariq M., Kaun, Karla R. "Drosophila Reward Circuits." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, 2023. |
| Nuñez KM, Catalano JL, Scaplen KM, Kaun KR. "Ethanol Behavioral Responses in Drosophila." Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, vol. 2023, no. 10, 2023, pp. 719-24. |
| Nuñez KM, Catalano JL, Scaplen KM, Kaun KR. "Methods for Exploring the Circuit Basis of Ethanol-Induced Changes in Drosophila Group Locomotor Activity." Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, vol. 2023, no. 10, 2023, pp. pdb.prot108138. |
| Certel SJ, McCabe BD, Stowers RS. "A conditional GABAergic synaptic vesicle marker for Drosophila." Journal of Neuroscience Methods, vol. 372, 2022, pp. 109540. |
| Certel SJ, Ruchti E, McCabe BD, Stowers RS. "A conditional glutamatergic synaptic vesicle marker for Drosophila." G3 (Bethesda, Md.), vol. 12, no. 3, 2022. |
| Hernandez J, Kaun KR. "Alcohol, neuronal plasticity, and mitochondrial trafficking." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, no. 29, 2022, pp. e2208744119. |
| Huggett SB, Ikeda AS, McGeary JE, Kaun KR, Palmer RHC. "Opioid Use Disorder and Alternative mRNA Splicing in Reward Circuitry." Genes, vol. 13, no. 6, 2022. |
| Oepen AS, Catalano JL, Azanchi R, Kaun KR. "The foraging gene affects alcohol sensitivity, metabolism and memory in Drosophila." Journal of Neurogenetics, vol. 35, no. 3, 2021, pp. 236-248. |
| Scaplen KM, Talay M, Fisher JD, Cohn R, Sorkaç A, Aso Y, Barnea G, Kaun KR. "Transsynaptic mapping of Drosophila mushroom body output neurons." eLife, vol. 10, 2021. |
| Petruccelli E, Brown T, Waterman A, Ledru N, Kaun KR. "Alcohol Causes Lasting Differential Transcription in Drosophila Mushroom Body Neurons." Genetics, vol. 215, no. 1, 2020, pp. 103-116. |
| McKinney HM, Sherer LM, Williams JL, Certel SJ, Stowers RS. "Characterization of Drosophila octopamine receptor neuronal expression using MiMIC-converted Gal4 lines." The Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 528, no. 13, 2020, pp. 2174-2194. |
| Scaplen KM, Talay M, Nunez KM, Salamon S, Waterman AG, Gang S, Song SL, Barnea G, Kaun KR. "Circuits that encode and guide alcohol-associated preference." eLife, vol. 9, no. e48730, 2020. |
| Scaplen KM, Mei NJ, Bounds HA, Song SL, Azanchi R, Kaun KR. "Automated real-time quantification of group locomotor activity in Drosophila melanogaster." Scientific reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 2019, pp. 4427. |
| Petruccelli, Emily, Kaun, Karla R. "Insights from intoxicated Drosophila." Alcohol, 2019. |
| Sherer LM, Certel SJ. "The fight to understand fighting: neurogenetic approaches to the study of aggression in insects." Current opinion in insect science, vol. 36, 2019, pp. 18-24. |
| Petruccelli, Emily, Feyder, Michael, Ledru, Nicolas, Jaques, Yanabah, Anderson, Edward, Kaun, Karla R. "Alcohol Activates Scabrous-Notch to Influence Associated Memories." Neuron, vol. 100, no. 5, 2018, pp. 1209-1223.e4. |
| Nunez, Kavin M., Azanchi, Reza, Kaun, Karla R. "Cue-Induced Ethanol Seeking in Drosophila melanogaster Is Dose-Dependent." Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 9, 2018. |
| Kaun KR, Rothenfluh A. "Dopaminergic rules of engagement for memory in Drosophila." Current opinion in neurobiology, vol. 43, 2017, pp. 56-62. |
| Scaplen, Kristin M., Kaun, Karla R. "Reward from bugs to bipeds: a comparative approach to understanding how reward circuits function." Journal of Neurogenetics, vol. 30, no. 2, 2016, pp. 133-148. |
| Engel GL, Marella S, Kaun KR, Wu J, Adhikari P, Kong EC, Wolf FW. "Sir2/Sirt1 Links Acute Inebriation to Presynaptic Changes and the Development of Alcohol Tolerance, Preference, and Reward." Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 36, no. 19, 2016, pp. 5241-51. |
| Albin SD, Kaun KR, Knapp JM, Chung P, Heberlein U, Simpson JH. "A Subset of Serotonergic Neurons Evokes Hunger in Adult Drosophila." Current Biology, vol. 25, no. 18, 2015, pp. 2435-40. |
| King, Ian F. G., Eddison, Mark, Kaun, Karla R., Heberlein, Ulrike. "EGFR and FGFR Pathways Have Distinct Roles in Drosophila Mushroom Body Development and Ethanol-Induced Behavior." PLoS ONE, vol. 9, no. 1, 2014, pp. e87714. |
| Aso, Yoshinori, Sitaraman, Divya, Ichinose, Toshiharu, Kaun, Karla R, Vogt, Katrin, Belliart-Guérin, Ghislain, Plaçais, Pierre-Yves, Robie, Alice A, Yamagata, Nobuhiro, Schnaitmann, Christopher, Rowell, William J, Johnston, Rebecca M, Ngo, Teri-T B, Chen, Nan, Korff, Wyatt, Nitabach, Michael N, Heberlein, Ulrike, Preat, Thomas, Branson, Kristin M, Tanimoto, Hiromu, Rubin, Gerald M. "Mushroom body output neurons encode valence and guide memory-based action selection in Drosophila." eLife, vol. 3, 2014. |
| Azanchi, R., Kaun, K. R., Heberlein, U. "Competing dopamine neurons drive oviposition choice for ethanol in Drosophila." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 110, no. 52, 2013, pp. 21153-21158. |
| Kaun, Karla R., Devineni, Anita V., Heberlein, Ulrike. "Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study drug addiction." Human Genetics, vol. 131, no. 6, 2012, pp. 959-975. |
| Shohat-Ophir, G., Kaun, K. R., Azanchi, R., Mohammed, H., Heberlein, U. "Sexual Deprivation Increases Ethanol Intake in Drosophila." Science, vol. 335, no. 6074, 2012, pp. 1351-1355. |
| Brown, Heather L. D., Kaun, Karla R., Edgar, Bruce A. "The Small GTPase Rheb Affects Central Brain Neuronal Morphology and Memory Formation in Drosophila." PLoS ONE, vol. 7, no. 9, 2012, pp. e44888. |
| Kaun, Karla R, Azanchi, Reza, Maung, Zaw, Hirsh, Jay, Heberlein, Ulrike. "A Drosophila model for alcohol reward." Nature Neuroscience, vol. 14, no. 5, 2011, pp. 612-619. |
| Hilliker, Arthur, Kaun, Karla R., Sokolowski, Marla B. "cGMP-dependent protein kinase: linking foraging to energy homeostasis." Genome, vol. 52, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1-7. |
| Kaun, Karla R., Heberlein, Ulrike. "Too Fat to Fly? New Brain Circuits Regulate Obesity in Drosophila." Neuron, vol. 63, no. 3, 2009, pp. 279-281. |
| Kaun, K. R., Chakaborty-Chatterjee, M., Sokolowski, M. B. "Natural variation in plasticity of glucose homeostasis and food intake." Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 211, no. 19, 2008, pp. 3160-3166. |
| Kaun, K. R., Hendel, T., Gerber, B., Sokolowski, M. B. "Natural variation in Drosophila larval reward learning and memory due to a cGMP-dependent protein kinase." Learning & Memory, vol. 14, no. 5, 2007, pp. 342-349. |
| Kaun, K. R., Riedl, C. A. L., Chakaborty-Chatterjee, M., Belay, A. T., Douglas, S. J., Gibbs, A. G., Sokolowski, M. B. "Natural variation in food acquisition mediated via a Drosophila cGMP-dependent protein kinase." Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 210, no. 20, 2007, pp. 3547-3558. |
| Hendel, Thomas, Michels, Birgit, Neuser, Kirsa, Schipanski, Angela, Kaun, Karla, Sokolowski, Marla B., Marohn, Frank, Michel, Ren�, Heisenberg, Martin, Gerber, Bertram. "The carrot, not the stick: appetitive rather than aversive gustatory stimuli support associative olfactory learning in individually assayed Drosophila larvae." J Comp Physiol A, vol. 191, no. 3, 2005, pp. 265-279. |
| Rose JK, Kaun KR, Chen SH, Rankin CH. "GLR-1, a non-NMDA glutamate receptor homolog, is critical for long-term memory in Caenorhabditis elegans." Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 23, no. 29, 2003, pp. 9595-9. |
| Rose JK, Kaun KR, Rankin CH. "A new group-training procedure for habituation demonstrates that presynaptic glutamate release contributes to long-term memory in Caenorhabditis elegans." Learning & Memory, vol. 9, no. 3, 2002, pp. 130-7. |
I use the powerful molecular and genetic tools available in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the neural substrates of memory, reward, and addiction at the molecular and cellular level. My goal is to develop the fly as a model to study more complex behavioral aspects associated with addiction. My lab uses a multi-tiered approach to understand the genes, molecules, and neural circuits underlying these complex behaviors. We use a combination of machine vision and machine learning approaches to develop automated, objective behavioral assays to measure the motivational responses. We then use an interdisciplinary approach that combines molecular genetics with behavioral analysis to understand the in vivo mechanism of memories at the level of individual circuits and their component cells. To investigate the molecular mechanisms driving plasticity within these circuits, we take advantage of extensive mutant libraries to perform unbiased genetic screens and innovative neurogenetic tools to perform cell-specific gene expression profiling. The combined approaches in my lab will reveal: 1) basic principles of how circuits function in vivo to form appetitive memories, and 2) novel molecular mechanisms influencing plasticity within these circuits. The basic principles revealed by this work will inform research on psychiatric illness associated with affect and memory such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and neurodegenerative disorders associated with memory loss.
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | PhD | University of Toronto |
| 2001 | BSc | University of British Columbia |
| Research Scientist | Janelia Research Campus, Heberlein Lab | 2011-2013 | Ashburn, VA, USA |
| Post-doctoral Fellow | University of California San Francisco, Heberlein Lab | 2007-2011 | San Francisco, CA, USA |
Awarded Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2014-2017)
Named Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Assistant Professor of Neuroscience (2015-2020)
Awarded International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society Young Investigator (2018)
President, International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society (2023)
Awarded Genetics Education Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers (2023)
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Barnea, Gilad | Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Professor of Ophthalmology, Visual Science, and Neuroscience |
| Fleischmann, Alexander | Provost's Associate Professor of Brain Science |
| Haass-Koffler, Carolina | Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Larschan, Erica | Graduate Program Co-Director for the Center of Computational Molecular Biology, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry |
| McGeary, John | Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior |
| O'Connor-Giles, Kate | Provost's Associate Professor of Brain Science |
| Sandstede, Bjorn | Alumni-Alumnae University Professor of Applied Mathematics |
| Singh, Ritambhara | Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Assistant Professor of Data Science |
| White, Tara | Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Research) |
Trainer in the Brown University Neuroscience graduate program (NSGP)
Trainer in the Brown University Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry graduate program (MCBGP)
Trainer in the Brown University Initiative to Maximize Development graduate program (IMSD)
NEUR 1040: Introduction to Neurogenetics
Recent advances in molecular biology and molecular genetics have allowed researchers to test specific hypotheses concerning the genetic control of behavior and neurological disease. This course will familiarize you with the relatively new and exciting field of neurogenetics. We will cover basic topics, new ideas, and unsolved problems in neurogenetics primarily through the two assigned texts. However, neurogenetics is essentially a “frontier” area in neuroscience, and the best way to approach this topic is by scientific literature, which will be covered in some lectures. Information derived from various animal model systems, including humans, will be covered with a focus on techniques such as classical genetics, molecular genetics, genomics, and behavioral neurobiology.
NEUR 1640: Behavioral Neurogenetics Laboratory
The field of neurogenetics brings together geneticists and neuroscientists in pursuit of the common goal of understanding the nervous system. This course will familiarize you with the relatively new and exciting field of neurogenetics, and provide hands-on experience in developing and conducting behavioral neurogenetic experiments using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. This course will be a laboratory course focused on reading and understanding the primary literature, gaining expertise in the design and implementation of basic fly genetics, behavioral testing and analysis of tracking data, and the preparation of research reports associated with laboratory work. Throughout the course we will discuss the appropriateness, use, and limitations of animal models and human models for studying pathology, run real experiments with live animals, and collect, analyze, interpret, and write up results associated with those experiments.
| NEUR 1040 - Introduction to Neurogenetics |
| NEUR 1640 - Behavioral Neurogenetics Laboratory |
