UTEP Research Finds Addictive Possibilities to Antidepressant
EL PASO, Texas - The influential journal Scientific Reports recently published a paper by Sergio Iñiguez, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at UTEP, about the risk of developing anxiety disorders after being exposed to the antidepressant Prozac during adolescence.
Dr. Iñiguez, said that children who are prescribed medications such as Prozac for anxiety and depression may need to continue to use those products as adults to lead normal lives.
​UTEP Graduate Student, Israel Garcia-Carachure, earns Neuroscience Scholar Program Fellowship

How the Prefrontal cortex may Curb Eating Behavior

In collaboration with Brandon Warren, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Pharmacodynamics at the University of Florida) we published, in eNeuro, that a specific area of the brain could lead to a way to influence eating behavior.
The Effects of Oxytocin on Social Anxiety Depend on Location, Location, Location.
Our collaboration with the laboratory of Brian Trainor, Ph.D., (Professor of Psychology at the University of California Davis) demonstrated that the effects of oxytocin on social anxiety depend on the its location within the brain. These findings were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NIH to Fund UTEP Study into Anti-Depression Drug –
​El Paso Herald-Post

The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences recently awarded a three-year, $400,000 grant to The University of Texas at El Paso’s Sergio Iñiguez, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, to study the possible long-range side effects of a drug treatment for pediatric depressive disorder.

Gene that could play key role in depression identified

Our collaboration with Dr. Mary Kay Lobo, PhD (University of Maryland) is the first to illuminate in detail how this particular gene, Slc6a15, works in a specific type of neuron that plays a key role in depression. The findings were published in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience. 

Mitochondria in the Brain Changed by Cocaine Use — the Findings Could Help Us Better Fight Addiction

Our collaboration with Mary Kay Lobo, Ph.D. (Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine) demonstrated that mitochondria in the brain is changed by cocaine use. These findings were published in the journal Neuron.

Prozac during adolescence protects against despair in adulthood –
​Los Angeles Times 

Rodent of the Week: Ritalin and Prozac -- a troubling ​combo for children? –
Los Angeles Times
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
​Our manuscript entitled "Fluoxetine exposure during adolescence alters responses to aversive stimuli in adulthood [Iñiguez et al., J Neuroci, 34(3), 1007-1021, 2014] was featured and evaluated in the Journal Club section of the Journal of Neuroscience. 
Thank you, Dr. Rincón-Cortés for the excellent assessment of our work! [see: Rincón-Cortés M. (2014). Adolescent Prozac administration exerts antidepressant-like effects in adulthood by reducing ERK2 signaling within the VTA, J Neurosci, 34(20), 6719-20].
Prozac During Teen Years Has Long-Lasting Effects; Antidepressant Weakens Emotional Strength Into Adulthood
Juvenile administration of concomitant methylphenidate and fluoxetine alters behavioral reactivity to reward- and mood-related stimuli and disrupts ventral tegmental area gene expression in adulthood.