Biography

Sussex University: Psychology Home Page

I did my degree in Pharmacology at the University of Bristol, and stayed on in the department to do my Ph.D. with Prof. Hilary Little, looking at the role of NMDA receptors and voltage-sensitive calcium channels in alcohol withdrawal. After a brief spell working with Prof. David Nutt at the Psychopharmacology unit in Bristol, I moved to the University of Texas for two years, where I worked with Prof. Rueben Gonzales looking at dopamine release following alcohol treatment. I returned to the UK in 1995, to the first of two postdoctoral positions that I have had with Prof. Dai Stephens in Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex. In 2003, I accepted a lectureship in the newly formed Psychology Department at Sussex.

My research has focused on mechanisms of synaptic plasticity occurring due to chronic administration of drugs of abuse. I have been fortunate enough to study this phenomenon using a broad range of techniques including electrophysiology, microdialysis and sophisticated behavioural techniques. I am currently researching into synaptic processes that are altered by both drugs of abuse and environmental experiences, such as those that provoke anxiety.

Learning (Year 1)

Brain and Behaviour (Year 2)

Neurobiological Mechanisms of Learning and Memory (Year 3 - option)

Psychobiology of Addiction (Year 3 - option)

Ripley, Tamzin L and Stephens, David N (2011) Critical thoughts on current animal models for evaluating potential treatments of alcohol addiction and withdrawal? Br J Pharmacology, 164. pp. 1335-56.

Yan, Ting Carrie, Dudley, Julia A, Weir, Ruth K, Grabowska, Ewelina M, Peña-Oliver, Yolanda, Ripley, Tamzin L, Hunt, Stephen P, Stephens, David N and Stanford, S Clare (2011) Performance Deficits of NK1 Receptor knockout Mice in the 5 Choice Serial Reaction Time Task: effects of d Amphetamine, Stress and Time of Day. PLoS ONE, 6. ISSN E17586

Yan, T C, Dudley, J, Weir, R, Grabowska, E, Oliver, Y P, Ripley, T, Hunt, S P and Stephens, D N (2010) Behaviour Of Nk1r+/+ And Nk1r-/- Mice In The 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task. In: Summer Meeting of the British-Association-for-Psychopharmacology, JUL 25-28, 2010, Harrogate, UNITED KINGDOM.

Dudley, J, Yan, T C, Weir, R, Grabowska, E, Oliver, Y P, Ripley, T L, Hunt, S P, Stephens, D N and Stanford, S C (2010) Effects Of D-Amphetamine On The Behaviour Of Nk1r+/+ And Nk1r-/- Mice In The 5 Choice Serial Reaction Time Task. In: Summer Meeting of the British-Association-for-Psychopharmacology JUL 25-28, 2010, Harrogate, UNITED KINGDOM.

Pena-Oliver, Y, Ripley, T, Desrivieres, S and Stephens, D N (2010) Use Of Recombinant Inbred Mouse Strains To Study Genetic Basis Of Motor Impulsivity And Compulsivity In 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task. In: Summer Meeting of the British-Association-for-Psychopharmacology JUL 25-28, 2010.

Peña Oliver, Yolanda, Ripley, Tamzin L and Stephens, David N (2009) Ethanol effects on impulsivity in two mouse strains: similarities to diazepam and ketamine. Psychopharmacology, 204 (4). pp. 679-692. ISSN 0033-3158