Position
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology Department
Contact
Email: MDBerquistii@uams.edu
Research Interests
Dr. Michael Berquist’s research interest is to study the relationship between experiences of early life adversity, such as resource scarcity and prenatal opioid exposure, and enhanced risk for developing alcohol use disorders. Personal experiences of early life adversity are strongly associated with drug use and mental health disorders later in life. Our group attempts to block or diminish the development of these problems by testing non-drug interventions, such as physical activity and social stability, and pharmacotherapies during adolescence—a critical neuropsychological developmental period in which individuals experiment with psychoactive drugs and have formative psychosocial experiences. Dr. Berquist primarily uses behavioral assays in rodents and collaborates with UAMS faculty to study the impact of early life adversity on alcohol use, as well as test putative interventions.
Recent Publications
Tobacyk J, Parks BJ, Salazar P, Coward LU, Berquist MD, Gorman GS, Brents LK. Interaction between buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 Aug 1;249:110832. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110832. Epub 2023 Jun 21. PMID: 37385117; PMCID: PMC10573081.
Niedzwiedz-Massey VM, Douglas JC, Rafferty T, Johnson JW, Holloway KN, Berquist MD, Kane CJM, Drew PD. Effects of chronic and binge ethanol administration on mouse cerebellar and hippocampal neuroinflammation. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2023 May 4;49(3):345-358. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2022.2128361. Epub 2022 Nov 8. PMID: 36345683; PMCID: PMC10615135.
Berquist MD, Fantegrossi WE. Effects of 5-HT2A receptor agonist 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine on alcohol consumption in Long-Evans rats. Behav Pharmacol. 2021 Aug 1;32(5):382-391. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000628. PMID: 33595958; PMCID: PMC8266736.
Findley DL, Berquist MD, Hambuchen MD. Methamphetamine-Induced Open Field Behavior and LD50 in Periplaneta americana Cockroaches (Blattodea: Blattidae). J Econ Entomol. 2021 Feb 9;114(1):476-480. doi: 10.1093/jee/toaa255. PMID: 33146384.
Berquist MD, McGill MR, Mazur A, Findley DL, Gorman G, Jones CB, Hambuchen MD. Effect of bile duct ligation-induced liver dysfunction on methamphetamine pharmacokinetics in male and female rats. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020 Oct 1;215:108190. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108190. Epub 2020 Jul 24. PMID: 32736295.
Berquist MD, Leth-Petersen S, Kristensen JL, Fantegrossi WE. In vivo effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its deuterated form in rodents: Drug discrimination and thermoregulation. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020 Mar 1;208:107850. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107850. Epub 2020 Jan 13. PMID: 31954950.
Berquist MD, Leth-Petersen S, Kristensen JL, Fantegrossi WE. Locomotor effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its deuterated form in mice: psychostimulant effects, stereotypy, and sensitization. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2020 Feb;237(2):431-442. doi: 10.1007/s00213-019-05380-3. Epub 2019 Nov 15. PMID: 31729537; PMCID: PMC7388080.