Dr. Craft's Current Research

To characterize sex (gender) differences in behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs, and to determine what causes these sex differences, including how sex hormones modulate behavioral effects of drugs.

• Intracranial Stimulation -- to examine reinforcing effects of drugs
• Drug Discrimination -- to examine interoceptive (subjective) effects of drugs
• Swim Test; Sucrose Preference; Novel Object Conditioning -- to examine anti-depressant effects of drugs
• Elevated Plus-Maze; Predator Odor Test -- to examine anti-anxiety effects of drugs
• Evoked Pain Tests (e.g., Tail Withdrawal, Paw Pressure, von Frey, Hargreaves) -- to examine analgesia against acute & chronic pain
• Spontaneous Pain Tests (var. pain-suppressed behaviors such as burrowing, feeding) -- to examine analgesia against chronic pain
• Spontaneous Locomotor Activity, Catalepsy Tests -- to examine motor-activating and suppressing effects of drugs
• Behavioral Observation -- to assess complex behavioral phenomena such as opioid withdrawal

We specialize in behavioral pharmacological studies, and collaborate with other investigators to examine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drug action.