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Full NameDr Michelle Roche
Physiology
National University of Ireland Galway
Webpage:nuigalway.ie
Email Address:Email hidden; Javascript is required.
- neuroscience and mental health
- Other
Autism, depression, stress, pain, children, neurobiology, anesthesiology, inflammation
- Medicine
- Surgery
- Anaesthetics
- Paediatrics
- Adolescent medicine
- Endocrinology
- Infectious diseases
- Immunology
- Neonatology
- Neurophysiology
- Neuropsychiatry
- Pharmacology
- Physiology
Dr Roche's research group focuses on increasing understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning affective disorders (stress/depression/autism), pain and their interactions. A wide variety of in vivo and ex vivo methodologies to evaluate the role of specific neurotransmitters, lipids, immune factors in these processes, with a particular focus on the role of the endocannabinoid and immune systems.
In order to investigate these issues, many of the experiments involve the use of an integrative, whole-systems approach due to the complex nature of the nervous system.
Current projects focus on
(1) understanding the role of opioids and endocannabinoids in altered emotional processing associated with autism,
(2) elucidating biological mechanisms underlying the association between altered affective processing and chronic pain,
(3) generation and validation of novel animal models of pain-affect co-morbidity,
(4) modulation of neuroinflammatory processes as potential therapeutic avenues for affective disorders and pain.
To date, the Roche group have published over 35 peer reviewed original research papers, 6 review articles, 3 book chapters and presented work at over 80 conferences. For full bibliography and list of publications see http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/michelleroche/