Dr. Paul Wellman

Professor
Ph.D. Iowa State University (1980)

Department of Psychology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4235

Office: 248 Psychology Building
email: pjw@psyc.tamu.edu
Phone: (979) 845-2557
Fax: (979) 845-4727

I maintain several research areas within behavioral pharmacology. One research question centers on the role of norepinphrine and of adrenergic receptors for the control of behavior. Our laboratory has explored the pharmacological and neurochemical bases of the hypopaghia induced by sympathomimetic amines such as cocaine, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), amphetamine, ephedrine, phentermine, and fenfluramine. The capacity of many of these drugs to inhibit eating is due in part to activation of a special class of receptors (alpha1) in brain, specifically within the rat paraventricular nucleus (PVN). A recent research question is to characterize the alpha1-adrenergic receptor subtype (?1A, (?1B, or (?1D) through which psychostimulants such as amphetamine modulate locomotion, eating, and reward. A third line of research involves characterizing the impact of chronic nicotine on meal pattern and body weight in male and female rats as a function of maintenance diet.

My current research interests lie in the pharmacological and neurochemical bases of the hypopaghia induced by sympathomimetic amines such as cocaine, phenylpropanolamine (PPA), amphetamine, ephedrine, phentermine, and fenfluramine. MY research program identified hypothalamic alpha-1 adrenoceptors as key to the capacity of PPA to suppress appetite and has extended this work to that of ephedrine. A recent focus is on characterizing the influence of gender and of body weight on the hypophagic properties of drugs such as cocaine and nicotine. My research has been funded by NIDA (collaboration with Jack Nation) and by corporate sponsors such as Thompson Medical Company and Knoll Pharmaceutical.

Nicotine's actions on food intake, metabolism, and body weight (HSC Funds) [2000-2002] with Larry Bellinger and Antonio Cepeda-Benito.

Impact of chronic anorexigen exposure on drug-induced anorexia (Knoll Pharmaceutical) [1999-2000]

Wellman, PJ. Behavioral properties of the ephedrine enantiomers. Presentation to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, 2004. Dallas Texas.

Marr K, Wellman PJ, Bellinger LL. Infusions of neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and cocaine-amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) on meal patterns in nicotine (N) treated rats. FASEB, April , 2003.

Wellman, PJ, D. Ho, and J Nation. Differential impact of cocaine on meal patterns in male and female rats. Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, 2003. Groningen.

Ho, DH, Wellman, PJ, Nation, JR and Bellinger, LL. Antagonism of cocaine-induced hypophagia by the alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin in the rat. Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, 2002. Santa Cruz, CA.

Ho, DH, Wellman, PJ, and Bellinger, LL. Meal patterns in rats after systemic mazindol and prazosin. Society for Neuroscience, 2002. Florida

Wellman, P.J. (2005) Catecholaminergic Modulation of Eating. Current Drug Targets. 6(2):191-199.

Davis, K.W. , P.J. Wellman, and P.S. Clifford (2007). Augmented cocaine conditioned place preference in rats pretreated with systemic ghrelin. Regulatory Peptides, 140(3):148-52

Wellman, P.J., Hollas, C.N., Elliot A.E. (2008) Systemic ghrelin sensitizes cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion in rats. Regulatory Peptides, 146(1-3):33-7.

Wellman, P.J. Ho, D. and J.R. Nation. (2008) Impact of cocaine on meal patterns in male and female rats. Life Sciences, 82(7-8):359-66.

Wellman, P.J. Elliott, A.E., Barbee, S., Hollas, C.N., Clifford, S.P., Nation, J.R. (2008) Lobeline attenuates progressive ratio breakpoint scores for intracranial self-stimulation in rats. Physiology and Behavior, 93(4-5):952-7

Wellman, P.J., Davis, K.W., Clifford, P.S., Rothman, R.B., Blough, B.E. (2009) Changes in feeding and locomotion induced by amphetamine analogs in rats. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 100(3):234-9.

Hodgson, S.R., Hofford, R.S., Wellman, P.J., and S. Eitan. (2009) Different affective response to opioid withdrawal in adolescent and adult mice. Life Sciences, 84(1-2):52-60

Psychology 335 - Physiological

Psychology 489 - Drugs and Behavior

Psychology 609 - Physiological

Psychology 689 - Clinical Psychopharmacology in Psychology

Link to Vita