Julia A. Chester

Julia A. Chester Profile Picture

Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences
Ph.D., Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 1998

Contact Info:

jcheste@purdue.edu
765-494-6863

Training Group(s):
Integrative Neuroscience

PULSe Contributor - not currently hosting students for laboratory rotations or recruiting students in the laboratory

Current Research Interests:

The main emphasis of Dr. Chester’s research program is to study the genetic, environmental, and neurobiological mechanisms that may promote or protect against the development of major mental diseases such as addiction, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. A primary area of her research is focused on examining the genetic and neurochemical mechanisms that regulate behavioral and motivational effects of alcohol. Dr. Chester has a strong interest in the role of stress and stress hormones in influencing alcohol-seeking behaviors and other behaviors that model abnormal psychological processes and psychiatric disease states in humans. Dr. Chester’s primary research focus is using genetic mouse models to explore how biological, genetic, and environmental factors, such as stress, may influence alcohol- and psychiatric disorder-related traits and how these factors interact with genetic propensity toward alcohol consumption. Her recent work has largely focused on developing an animal model of co-morbid alcohol use disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exploring target mechanisms for the treatment of these human disorders. Much of this work involves examining candidate genes and neurochemical and hormonal factors that may regulate brain-behavior relationships in these animal models.

Selected Publications:

Kirchhoff, A. M., Barker, E. L., & Chester, J. A. (2019). Endocannabinoids and fear-related behavior in mice selectively bred for high or low alcohol preference. Brain Sciences, 9(10), pii: E254.

Weera, M. M., Agim, Z., Cannon, J., & Chester, J. A. (2019). Genetic correlations between nicotine reinforcement-related behaviors and propensity toward high or low alcohol preference in two replicate mouse lines. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 18(3), e12515.

Chester, J. A. (2018). A genetic mouse model for co-morbid alcohol use disorder and post- traumatic stress disorder. In: Sangha, S. & Foti, D. (eds.) Neurobiology of Abnormal Emotion and Motivated Behaviors: Integrating Animal and Human Research, pp. 164-180. Cambridge: Academic Press.

Fernandez, R. F. Kim, S. Q., Zhao, Y., Foguth, R. M., Counihan, J. L., Weera, M. M., Chester, J. A., Nomura, D. K., Cannon, J. R., & Ellis, J. M. (2018). Acyl-CoA Synthetase 6 enriches the neuroprotective omega-3 fatty acid DHA in the brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 115(49), 12525-12530.

Weera, M. M., & Chester, J. A. (2018). Effects of nicotine on alcohol drinking in female mice selectively-bred for high or low alcohol preference. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42(2), 432-443.

Peng, C., Engle, S. E., Yan, Y., Weera, M. M., Berry, J. N., Arvin, M. C., McIntosh, J. M., Chester, J. A., & Drenan, R. M. (2017). Altered nicotine reward-associated behavior following a4 nAChR subunit deletion in ventral midbrain. PLOS ONE, 12(7), e0182142.

Chester, J. A., & Weera, M. M. (2017). Genetic correlation between alcohol preference and conditioned fear: Exploring a functional relationship. Alcohol, 58, 127-137. Published in a Special Issue on “Mouse Genetic Models of Alcohol and Stress-Alcohol Interactions.”

Qiu, B., Luczak, S. E., Wall, T. L., Kirchhoff , A. M., Xu, Y., Eng, M. Y., Stewart, R., Shou, W., Boehm II, S. L., Chester, J. A., Yong, W., & Liang, T. (2016). FKBP5 gene affects alcohol drinking in knockout mice and is implicated in alcohol drinking in humans. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(8), pii:E1271.

Breit, K. R., & Chester, J. A. (2016). Effects of chronic stress on alcohol reward- and anxiety-related behavior in high- and low-alcohol preferring mice. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(12), 24 38-46.

Powers, M. S., Breit, K. R., & Chester, J. A. (2015). Genetic versus pharmacological assessment of the role of cannabinoid type 2 receptors in alcohol reward-related behaviors. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(12), 2438-46. This article was selected as an article of public interest: (2015). Articles of Public Interest. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39, 2267.

Helms, C. M., Bell, R. L., Bennett, A. J., Davies, D. L., Chester, J. A., Kosten, T. A., Leeman, R. F., Panicker, S., Platt, D. M., Weiner, J. L., & Edwards*, S. (2015). The importance of animals in advancing research on alcohol use disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(4), 575-8.

Chester, J.A., Barrenha, G.D., Hughes, M.L., Keuneke, K.J. (2008) Age- and sex-dependent effects of footshock stress on subsequent alcohol drinking and acoustic startle behavior in mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, in press.

Chester, J.A., Barrenha, G.D. (2007). Acoustic startle at baseline and during acute alcohol withdrawal in replicate mouse lines selectively bred for high or low alcohol preference. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 31(10), 1633-1644. Epub 2007 Sept 17.

Barrenha, G.D., Chester, J.A. (2007). Genetic correlation between innate alcohol preference and fear-potentiated startle in selected mouse lines. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 31(7), 1081-1088. Epub 2007 Apr 19.

Chester, J.A., Rausch, E.J., June, H.L., Froehlich, J.C. (2006). Decreased reward during acute alcohol withdrawal in rats selectively bred for low alcohol drinking. Alcohol, 38(3), 165-172. Epub 2006 July 28.

Chester, J.A., Mullins, A.J., Nguyen, C.H., Watts, V.J., Meisel, R.L. (2006). Repeated quinpirole treatments produce neurochemical sensitization and associated behavioral changes in female hamsters. Psychopharmacology, 188(1), 53-62. Epub 2006 July 19.

Chester, J.A., Barrenha, G.D., DeMaria, A., Finegan A. (2006). Different effects of stress on alcohol drinking behavior in male and female mice selectively bred for high alcohol preference. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 41(1), 44-53.

Chester, J.A., Blose, A.M., Froehlich, J.C. (2005). Effects of chronic alcohol treatment on acoustic startle reactivity during withdrawal and subsequent alcohol intake in high and low alcohol drinking rats. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 40(5), 379-87.

Chester, J.A., Blose, A.M., Froehlich, J.C. (2004). Acoustic startle reactivity during acute alcohol withdrawal in rats that differ in genetic predisposition toward alcohol drinking: Effect of stimulus characteristics. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 28(5), 677-687.

Chester, J.A., Blose, A.M., Froehlich, J.C. (2004). Effects of stress on alcohol consumption in rats selectively bred for high or low alcohol drinking. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 28(3), 385-393.

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