Prof Dora Duka

Biography

Homepage for Dora Duka

Sussex University: Psychology Home Page

Medical School, University of Athens, 1965-1971
Doctor of Medicine degree, 1971
Postgraduate student Pharmacology Department, Medical School, University of Athens, 1972-1975
Research Doctorate 'The effect of chlorpromazine on the behaviour of thyroxine-treated rats', 1975
Research Associate, Department of Pharmacology, University of Athens, 1975-1977
Visiting Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, 1977-1981
Research Fellow, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, 1981-1984
Research Scientist and then Head of department CNS Human Pharmacology, Schering AG, Berlin, 1984-1994
Senior Lecturer, Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, 1995-1999
Reader in Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, 1999-2003
Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, 2003-present

Admissions Tutor BSc Psychology, 1999- 2002

Course organiser: Biological Bases of Mental Disorders 1999-present
Module Leader Neuroscience & Behaviour for the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) 2004-2009

Research Interests

My research interests are in the cognitive and emotional mechanisms involved in drug addiction using as examples alcohol and nicotine.

In my research I try to pursue the following questions:

 How does drug and alcohol abuse (including binge drinking and multiple withdrawals) alter brain structure and function, and what are the cognitive and emotional consequences that contribute to the maintenance of addiction?

How do drug associated stimuli capture attention and control drug seeking behaviour? What are the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying these effect?

How do variations in levels or patterns of expression of GABRA2 gene in humans predispose to stress responsiveness, and influence the ability of stressful events to mediate addictive behaviours?

What are the mechanisms mediating the effects of stress on craving for and consumption of alcohol in binge drinkers? reduced inhibitory control or increased responsiveness of reward pathways?

What are the mechanisms by which impulsivity contribute to addictive behaviours?

Current Research Support

National Institute of Health (NIH) for research on alcohol: Neurosciences Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA) Stress Consortium (PI Duka). Disinhibition as a factor mediating the effects of stress on alcohol craving

Medical Research Council  (PI Duka). Understanding alcohol’s effects on inhibition of behaviour; implications for treatment

Medical Research Council:GABA_A receptors in accumbens neural circuits underlying drug abuse: a target for treatment (PI Stephens). I am the leader of Work Package 1, Human GABRA2 endophenotypes and drug of abuse

BBSRC Johnson & Johnson, Case Award  (PI Duka). The effects of stress and negative mood on expression of appetitive conditioning under conditions of reduced reward value.

European Union: Cultural and Biological influences on binge drinking – ALCOBINGE (PI Ripley). I am the leader of  Work package 1: Brain functional and structural changes in human binge drinkers; a longitudinal investigation.

Current Lab Members

Leanne Trick 

Kiki Nikolaou

Kathleen Smith

Amy Caswell

Claire Mathers

Stephens Jeffs

Katie Atwel

Previous Lab Members

Ruth Weissenborn

Julia Townshend

Lee Hogarth

Matt Field

Sarah Garfinkel

Abi Rose

Collaborators 

University of Sussex

Dai Stephens (Psychology)

Sarah King (Psychology)

Hans Crombag (Psychology)

Zoltan Dienes (Psychology)

 Hugo Critchley (Brighton & Sussex Medical School)

Mara Cerignani (Brighton & Sussex Medical School)

Nick Dowel (Brighton & Sussex Medical School)

Other Institutes

Matt Field (Liverpool University)

Anthony Dickinson (University of Cambridge)

Steve Williams (Institute of Psychiatry, London)

Fabien Gerski (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne)

Mickael Naassila (University of Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens)

Kathy Grant (Oregon Health and Science University)

Mary Phillips University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine,

Selected  Publications Associated with ongoing research in my lab

O'Daly, Owen G, Trick, Leanne, Scaife, Jess, Marshall, Jane, Ball, David, Phillips, Mary L, Williams, Stephen SC, Stephens, David N and Duka, Theodora (2012) Withdrawal-associated increases and decreases in functional neural connectivity associated with altered emotional regulation in alcoholism. Neuropsychopharmacology, 37 (10). pp. 2267-2276. ISSN 0893-133X

Duka, Theodora, Trick, Leanne, Nikolaou, Kyriaki, Gray, Marcus A, Kempton, Matthew J, Williams, Hugh, Williams, Steven C R, Critchley, Hugo D and Stephens, David N (2011) Unique brain areas associated with abstinence control are damaged in multiply detoxified alcoholics. Biological Psychiatry, 70 (6). pp. 545-552. ISSN 1873-2402

Duka, Theodora, Crombag, Hans S and Stephens, David N (2011) Experimental medicine in drug addiction; towards behavioural cognitive and neurobiological biomarkers biomarkers. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25. pp. 1235-55.

Biological Bases of Mental Disorders (Course Organiser)
Abnormal and Clinical Psychology
Psychobiology of Addiction
MSc in Drug Misuse

Discipline Leader for Neuroscience and Module Leader Neuroscience & Behaviour for the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS)

Student Consultation

My office hours are: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10.00 to 11.30

Nikolaou, Kyriaki, Field, Matt, Critchley, Hugo and Duka, Theodora (2013) Acute alcohol effects on attentional bias are mediated by subcortical areas associated with arousal and salience attribution. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38. pp. 1365-1373. ISSN 0893-133X

Stephens, David N, Crombag, Hans S and Duka, Theodora (2013) The challenge of studying parallel behaviors in humans and animal models. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 13. pp. 611-45. ISSN 1866-3370

O'Daly, Owen G, Trick, Leanne, Scaife, Jess, Marshall, Jane, Ball, David, Phillips, Mary L, Williams, Stephen SC, Stephens, David N and Duka, Theodora (2012) Withdrawal-associated increases and decreases in functional neural connectivity associated with altered emotional regulation in alcoholism. Neuropsychopharmacology, 37 (10). pp. 2267-2276. ISSN 0893-133X

Nesic, J, Duka, T, Rusted, J M and Jackson, A (2011) A role for glutamate in subjective response to smoking and its action on inhibitory control. Psychopharmacology, 216 (1). pp. 29-42. ISSN 0033-3158

Duka, Theodora (2011) Deficits in reward system activation and impulsivity: a predisposing condition to alcoholism? Biological Psychiatry, 69 (7). pp. 612-613. ISSN 0006-3223

Nesic, J, Rusted, J, Duka, T and Jackson, A (2011) Degree of dependence influences the effect of smoking on cognitive flexibility. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 98 (3). pp. 376-384. ISSN 0091-3057

Atwell, Katie, Abraham, Charles and Duka, Dora (2011) A Parsimonious, Integrative Model of Key Psychological Correlates of UK University Students' Alcohol Consumption. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 46 (3). pp. 253-60. ISSN 0735-0414

Trick, Leanne, Hogarth, Lee and Duka, Theodora (2011) Prediction and uncertainty in human Pavlovian to instrumental transfer. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37 (3). pp. 757-765. ISSN 0278-7393

Austin, Alison and Duka, Dora (2010) Mechanisms of attention for appetitive and aversive outcomes in Pavlovian conditioning. Behavioral Brain Research, 213 (1). pp. 19-26. ISSN 0166-4328

Duka, Dora and Trick, Leanne (2010) Dysregulated Response To Reward And Punishment In Alcoholic Patients In Abstinence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34 (8). 135A-135A. ISSN 0145-6008

Leeman, Robert F, Heilig, Markus, Cunningham, Christopher L, Stephens, Dai, Duka, Dora and O'Malley, Stephanie S (2010) Ethanol consumption: how should we measure it? Achieving consilience between human and animal phenotypes. Addiction Biology, 15 (2). pp. 109-124. ISSN 1355-6215

Hogarth, Lee, Dickinson, Anthony and Duka, Theodora (2010) The associative basis of cue-elicited drug taking in humans. Psychopharmacology, 208 (3). pp. 337-351. ISSN 0033-3158

Stephens, David N and Duka, Theodora (2010) Cognitive and emotional consequences of binge drinking: role of amygdala and prefrontal cortex. In: The neurobiology of addiction: new vistas. Oxford University Press, pp. 101-117. ISBN 9780199562152

Loeber, Sabine, Duka, Theodora, Márquez, Helga Welzel, Nakovics, Helmut, Heinz, Andreas, Mann, Karl and Flor, Herta (2010) Effects of repeated withdrawal from alcohol on recovery of cognitive impairment under abstinence and rate of relapse. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 45. pp. 541-547. ISSN 0735-0414

Loeber, Sabine and Duka, Dora (2009) Acute alcohol impairs conditioning of a behavioural reward-seeking response and inhibitory control processes¿implications for addictive disorders. Addiction, 104 (12). pp. 2013-2022. ISSN 0965-2140

Loeber, Sabine and Duka, Theodora (2009) Acute alcohol decreases performance of an instrumental response to avoid aversive consequences in social drinkers. Psychopharmacology, 205 (4). pp. 577-587. ISSN 0033-3158

Scaife, J C and Duka, T (2009) Behavioural measures of frontal lobe function in a population of young social drinkers with binge drinking pattern. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 93 (3). pp. 354-362. ISSN 0091-3057

Duka, Theodora and Crews, Fulton (2009) Impulsivity: Its genetic, neurochemical and brain substrate determinants and the risks it entails for aberrant motivated behavior and psychopathology. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 93 (3). pp. 197-198. ISSN 0091-3057

Loeber, Sabine and Duka, Theodora (2009) Extinction learning of stimulus reward contingencies: The acute effects of alcohol. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 102 (1-3). pp. 56-62. ISSN 0376-8716

Loeber, Sabine, Duka, Theodora, Welzel, Helga, Nakovicz, Helmut, Heinz, Andreas, Flor, Herta and Mann, Karl (2009) Impairment of cognitive abilities and decision making after chronic use of alcohol: the impact of multiple detoxifications. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 44 (4). ISSN 1358-6173

Hogarth, Lee, Dickinson, Anthony and Duka, Theodora (2009) Detection versus sustained attention to drug cues have dissociable roles in mediating drug seeking behavior. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 17 (1). pp. 21-30. ISSN 1064-1297

Jackson, A, Nesic, J, Groombridge, C, Clowry, O, Rusted, J and Duka, T (2009) Differential Involvement of Glutamatergic Mechanisms in the Cognitive and Subjective Effects of Smoking. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34 (2). pp. 257-265. ISSN 0893-133X

Field, Matt, Duka, Theodora, Tyler, Elizabeth and Schoenmakers, Tim (2009) Attentional bias modification in tobacco smokers. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 11 (7). pp. 812-822. ISSN 1462-2203

Duka, T (2009) Emotional and cognitive consequences of repeated ethanol exposure: a translational approach. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33 (S1). 301A-301A. ISSN 0145-6008

Hogarth, Lee, Dickinson, Anthony, Alison, Alison, Brown, Craig and Duka, Theodora (2008) Attention and expectation in human predictive learning: The role of uncertainty. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61 (11). pp. 1658-1668. ISSN 1747-0218

Hogarth, Lee, Dickinson, Anthony, Janowski, Molly, Nikitina, Aleksandra and Duka, Dora (2008) The role of attentional bias in mediating human drug-seeking behaviour. Psychopharmacology, 201 (1). pp. 29-41. ISSN 0033-3158

Nesic, J and Duka, Dora (2008) Differential effects of stress on alcohol-related behaviours in moderate and heavy social drinkers. In: 21st Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology, AUG 30-SEP 03, 2008, Barcelona, SPAIN.

Duka, D and Nesic, J (2008) The effects of stress on alcohol craving and consumption in heavy social drinkers. In: 21st Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology Barcelona, SPAIN, AUG 30-SEP 03, 2008, Barcelona, SPAIN.

Rose, Abigail and Duka, Dora (2008) Effects of alcohol on inhibitory processes. Behavioural Pharmacology, 19 (4). pp. 284-291. ISSN 0955-8810

Duka, Dora (2008) Cognitive performance deficits in binge drinkers; The effects of alcohol challenge. In: Joint Scientific Meeting of the Research-Society-on-Alcoholism and the International-Society-for-Biomedical-Research-on-Alcoholism JUN 27-JUL 02, 2008, Washington, DC.

Nesic, J and Duka, T (2008) Effects of stress on emotional reactivity in hostile heavy social drinkers following dietary tryptophan enhancement. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 43 (2). pp. 151-162. ISSN 1358-6173

Jackson, Anne, Stephens, Dai and Duka, Theodora (2005) Gender differences in response to lorazepam in a human drug discrimination study. Psychopharmacology, 19 (6). pp. 614-619. ISSN 02698811

Duka, Theodora, Gentry, John, Malcolm, Robert, Ripley, Tamzin L, Borlikova, Gilyana, Stephens, Dai N, Veatch, Lynn M, Becker, Howard C and Crews, Fulton T (2004) Consequences of multiple withdrawal from alcohol. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 28 (2). pp. 233-246. ISSN 0145-6008

Duka, Theodora, Townshend, Julia M, Collier, Kirsty and Stephens, David N (2003) Impairment in cognitive function following multiple detoxifications in alcoholic inpatients. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 27 (10). pp. 1563-1572. ISSN 0145-6008

Jackson, Anne, Duka, Theodora and Stephens, David N (2003) Effects of alcohol and lorazepam during extinction of alcohol self-administration in rats. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 17 (3). pp. 293-299. ISSN 0269-8811

Jackson, Anne, Stephens, David N and Duka, Theodora (2003) Lorazepam substitutes for the alcohol stimulus in social drinkers. Psychopharmacology, 166 (2). pp. 181-187. ISSN 0033-3158

Stephens, D N, Brown, G, Duka, T and Ripley, T L (2001) Impaired fear conditioning but enhanced seizure sensitivity in rats given repeated experience of withdrawal from alcohol. European Journal of Neuroscience, 14 (12). pp. 2023-2031. ISSN 0953-816X

Mead, Andy N, Vasilaki, Anna, Spyraki, Christina, Duka, Theodora and Stephens, David N (1999) AMPA involvement in c-fos expression in prefrontal cortex and amygdala dissociates neural substrates of conditioned activity and conditioned reward. European Journal of Neuroscience, 11 (11). 4089¿4098.