Associate Director of the Research Centre, Douglas Institute Researcher, Douglas Institute James McGill Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University Director, Program for the Study of Behaviour, Genes and Environment, McGill University
Areas of Expertise
Maternal care; stress; gene expression
Profile
Individual differences in maternal care can modify an offspring's cognitive development, as well as its ability to cope with stress later in life. Michael Meaney, PhD, was one of the first researchers to identify the importance of maternal care in modifying the expression of genes that regulate behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress, as well as hippocampal synaptic development.
At present, Michael Meaney and his team of research assistants, postdoctoral fellows, and students are pursuing several lines of research, including:
1) the influence of maternal care on the development of the GABAA receptor system – a neural system critical to the expression of behavioral and endocrine responses to stress;
2) studies on the molecular mechanisms by which maternal care alters gene expression, with an emphasis on genes involved in the regulation of endocrine responses to stress, such as the glucocorticoid receptor and the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) systems of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus and amygdala, which form part of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis;
3) the effects of environmental enrichment on the development of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, with a focus on NMDA-stimulated synaptogenesis;
4) the effects of maternal separation on the development of the corticomesolimbic dopamine system as a model for drug abuse susceptibility.
Michael Meaney has authored over 180 publications and presented at research institutes, government health agencies, and scientific meetings throughout the world.
Awards and Distinctions
In 2007, he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) and named a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.
In 2007, he was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as a “Most Highly Cited Scientist” in the area of neuroscience.
In recognition of his contributions to stress research, he has received numerous awards, including a Senior Scientist Career Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in 1997 and a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award in 2002.
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