Stephan Steidl

Degrees

Ph.D., University of Toronto
M.A., University of British Columbia

Research Interests

My research is generally concerned with understanding brain systems that contribute to appetitively motivated behaviors. It is well established that the dopamine system is important in motivation and reward, but much remains to be learned about how the dopamine system is activated. Most rewards, including several drugs of abuse, activate the dopamine system indirectly.  Environmental stimuli, which through experience predict the availability of rewards, also come to activate the dopamine system, and almost certainly do so indirectly. Thus, understanding the source, type, and nature of afferent inputs to the dopamine system is critical. My interests have been particularly focused on the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) and the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDTg), two closely related brainstem nuclei that excite the dopamine system through both cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs. My laboratory uses a combination of experimental approaches (in-vivo pharmacology, cell-specific lesions techniques, and optogenetics) to understand the role of PPTg and LDTg cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs to the dopamine system in rat and mouse reward-seeking and reward-taking behaviors.

Courses Taught

NEUR 101 Introduction to Neuroscience
NEUR 300 Neuroscience Seminar
PSYC 304 Statistics
PSYC 378 Drugs and Behavior
PSYC 387 Seminar in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience 

Selected Publications

* Loyola University undergraduate student

Puranik A*, Buie N*, Arizanovska D, Vezina P, Steidl S (2022). Glutamate inputs from the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus to the ventral tegmental area are essential for the induction of cocaine sensitization in male mice. Psychopharmacology 239: 3263-3276.

Kozlova A, Butler RR 3rd, Zhang S, Ujas T, Zhang H, Steidl S, Sanders AR, Pang ZP, Vezina P, Duan J (2021). Sex-specific nicotine sensitization and imprinting of self-administration in rats inform GWAS findings on human addiction phenotypes. Neuropsychopharmacology 46: 1746-1756.

Buie N*, Sodha D*, Scheinman S, Steidl S (2020). Rewarding effects of M4 but not M3  muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonism in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus. Behavioural Brain Research 379:112340.

Steidl S, O’Sullivan S*, Pilat D*, Bubula N, Brown J, Vezina P (2017). Operant responding for optogenetic excitation of LDTg inputs to the VTA requires D1 and D2 dopamine receptor activation in the NAcc. Behavioural Brain Research, 333:161-170.

Steidl S, Wang H, Ordonez M*, Zhang S, Morales M (2017). Optogenetic excitation in the ventral tegmental area of glutamatergic or cholinergic inputs from the laterodorsal tegmental area drives reward. European Journal of Neuroscience, 45:559-571.

Steidl S, Dhillon ES*, Sharma N*, Ludwig J* (2017). Muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonists in the VTA and RMTg have opposite effects on morphine-induced locomotion in mice. Behavioural Brain Research, 323:111-116

Steidl S, Veverka K (2015). Optogenetic excitation of LDTg axons in the VTA reinforces operant responding in rats. Brain Research, 1614: 86-89.

Steidl S, Cardiff KM, Wise RA (2015). Increased latencies to initiate cocaine self-administration following laterodorsal tegmental nucleus lesions. Behavioural Brain Research, 287: 82-88.

Steidl S, Myal S, Wise RA (2015). Supplemental morphine infusion into the posterior ventral tegmentum extends the satiating effects of self-administered intravenous heroin. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 134: 1-5.

Steidl S, Wang HL, Wise RA (2014). Lesions of cholinergic pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus neurons fail to affect cocaine or heroin self-administration or place preference in rats. PLoS One, 9: e84412.

Steidl S, Lee E, Wasserman D, Yeomans JS (2013). Acute food deprivation reverses morphine-induced locomotion deficits in M5 muscarinic knockout mice. Behavioural Brain Research, 252: 176-179.

Steidl S, Miller AD, Blaha CD, Yeomans JS (2011). M5 muscarinic receptors mediate striatal dopamine activation by ventral tegmental morphine or pedunculopontine stimulation in mice. PLoS One, 6: e27538.

Steidl S, Razik F, Anderson AK (2011). Emotion enhanced retention of cognitive skill learning. Emotion, 11: 12-19.

Steidl S, Yeomans JS (2009). M5 muscarinic receptor knockout mice show reduced morphine-induced locomotion but increased locomotion after cholinergic antagonism in the ventral tegmental area. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 328: 263-275.

Steidl S, Mohi-uddin S, Anderson AK (2006). Effects of emotional arousal on multiple memory systems: evidence from declarative and procedural learning. Learning and Memory, 13: 650-8.

Yeomans JS, Lee J, Yeomans MH, Steidl S, Li L (2006). Midbrain pathways for prepulse inhibition and startle activation in rat. Neuroscience, 142: 921-9.

Steidl S, Faerman P, Li L, Yeomans JS (2004). Kynurenate in the pontinereticular formation inhibits acoustic and trigeminal nucleus-evoked startle, but not vestibular nucleus-evoked startle. Neuroscience, 126: 127-36.

Li L, Steidl S, Yeomans JS (2001).  Contributions of the vestibular nucleus and vestibulospinal tract to the startle reflex. Neuroscience, 106: 811-21.

Steidl S, Li L, Yeomans JS (2001). Conditioned brain-stimulation reward attenuates the acoustic startle reflex in rats.  Behavioral Neuroscience, 115: 710-17.