UMass Boston

Neuroendocrinology, Neuropharmacology, Neurobiology of Stress and Epigenetics

PhD, Emory University

• Hunter, R.G., Dominguez, G., Hubert, G.W., Philpot, K.B., Vicentic A. and Kuhar, M.J. CART Peptides in Feeding and Obesity. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. 15(9):454-9, 2004
• Hunter, R.G. Lim, M.M., Philpot, K.B., Young, L.J. and Kuhar, M.J. Comparative analysis of CART Peptide and mRNA Expression in Prairie and Meadow Voles. Brain Res. 2005 Jun 28;1048(1-2):12-23.
• Hunter, R.G., Vicentic, A., Rogge, G. and Kuhar, M.J. Regulation of Nucleus Accumbens CART mRNA levels by Cocaine: a Role for Corticosterone. Eur J Pharmacol. 2005 Jul 4;517(1-2):45-50.
• Hunter, R.G., Jones, D., Hue, G., Rye, D. and Kuhar, M.J. Nucleus Accumbens CART mRNA is regulated via D3 Receptors. Neuropharmacology. 2006 Jun;50(7):858-64.
• Hunter, R.G., Romeo, R.D., Bellani, R., Bloss, E, Costa, A. and McEwen, B.S. Regulation of CART mRNA by Stress and Corticosteroids in the Hippocampus and Amygdala. Brain Res. 2007 Jun 4;1152:234-40.
• Du J., Yun Wang Y., Hunter R.G., Machado-Vieira R., Wei Y., Blumenthal R., Falke C., Chen J.,Zhou R.,Yuan P., McEwen B.S., and Manji, H.K. Dynamic Regulation of Mitochondrial Function by Glucocorticoids. PNAS. 2009 Mar 3;106(9):3543-8.
• Hunter, R.G., Bellani, R., Bloss, E., Costa, A. and McEwen, B.S. Changes in Kainate Receptor Expression Induced by Chronic Corticosteroids and Restraint Stress. PLoS ONE. 2009;4(1):e4328.
• Hunter, R.G., McCarthy, K., Milne, T.A., Pfaff, D.W. and McEwen, B.S. Regulation of Hippocampal H3 Histone Methylation by Acute and Chronic Stress. PNAS Epub Nov. 23, 2009. PMC2791599
• Eiland, L., Hunter, R.G., Miller, M. and McEwen, B. Stress and anxiety: structural plasticity and epigenetic regulation as a consequence of stress. Neuropharmacology. Neuropharmacology. 2012 Jan;62(1):3-12. Epub 2011 Jul 27.
• Hunter, R.G., Murakami, G., Dewell, S., Hachen, M., McEwen, B.S., and Pfaff, D.W. Acute stress and hippocampal histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation, a retrotransposon silencing response. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Oct 23;109(43):17657-62. PMID: 23043114
• Hunter, R.G. Epigenetic effects of stress and corticosteroids in the brain. Front Cell Neurosci. 2012;6:18. Epub 2012 Apr 19. PMID: 22529779
• Hunter, R.G. and McEwen, B.S. Stress and Anxiety Across the Lifespan: Structural Plasticity and Epigenetic Regulation. Epigenomics. 2013 Apr;5(2):177-94.

Richard Hunter is fundamentally interested in how stressful or traumatic life events alter not only the course of our lives but the very structure and function of our brains as well. Why do many, if not most, humans and animals recover quickly from trauma and why do others go on to suffer life long impairments like depression and post traumatic stress disorder? Why does environmental stress cause some to age more rapidly than others?

To answer these questions, Hunter utilizes a number of rodent models of stress and analyzes the impact of these stress models both on behavior and upon molecular and cellular changes in the nervous system. In particular he is interested in the changes in epigenetic marks and molecules occurring in stress sensitive brain regions like the hippocampus. He has recently shown that one of these marks, Histone H3 lysine 9 trimethyl, a repressive mark, is involved in a genomic stabilizing response within the hippocampus that is targeted at transposable elements within the genome. These elements, which comprise an order of magnitude larger portion of the genome than the genes themselves, are an almost completely unexplored territory with regard to brain function in health or in disease. However, they hold the promise of new understanding of the way the brain adapts, or fails to adapt, to stressful environments.

Psych 250: Learning and Memory
Psych 476: Experimental Methods Physiological