Allison Anacker

Senior Lecturer

Neuroscience Undergraduate Program

allison.anacker@uvm.edu
(802) 656-1772
headshot of Alison smiling in an indoor setting
allison.anacker@uvm.edu
+18026561772

2 Colchester Avenue
Dewey Hall, 304
Burlington, VT 05405-0134
United States
Alma mater(s)
  • A.S. Santa Rosa Junior College, 2002
  • B.S., Humboldt State University, 2006
  • Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University, 2012

BIO

My current research interests are related to scholarship of teaching and learning. In my teaching position I do not typically have opportunities for student research.

My past research was in genetics and neurobiology underlying social behavior, such as in the context of interactions between social relationships and alcohol drinking, as well as autism spectrum disorder.

Courses

  • NSCI 1070 - First year Neuroscience Seminar
  • NSCI 2100/2105 - Exploring Neuroscience
  • PSYS 3200 - Physiological Psychology w/Lab
  • PSYS 3210 - Behavioral Genetics
  • PSYS 3250 - Psychopharmacology
  • PSYS 3990 - Neurodiversity
  • NSCI 4500 - Diseases of the Nervous System

Publications

Google Scholar - Allison Anacker

Area(s) of expertise

Genetics underlying behavior, especially how they lead to individual differences; social behavior; addiction; interactions between social relationships and alcohol drinking; autism spectrum disorder.

Bio

My current research interests are related to scholarship of teaching and learning. In my teaching position I do not typically have opportunities for student research.

My past research was in genetics and neurobiology underlying social behavior, such as in the context of interactions between social relationships and alcohol drinking, as well as autism spectrum disorder.

Courses

  • NSCI 1070 - First year Neuroscience Seminar
  • NSCI 2100/2105 - Exploring Neuroscience
  • PSYS 3200 - Physiological Psychology w/Lab
  • PSYS 3210 - Behavioral Genetics
  • PSYS 3250 - Psychopharmacology
  • PSYS 3990 - Neurodiversity
  • NSCI 4500 - Diseases of the Nervous System

Publications

Google Scholar - Allison Anacker

Areas of Expertise

Genetics underlying behavior, especially how they lead to individual differences; social behavior; addiction; interactions between social relationships and alcohol drinking; autism spectrum disorder.

Selected Publications

Pope, L., Anacker, A. M. J., Brouwer Burg, M., Dion, L., Plouffe, R. R. B., Vivanco, L. A., Buckland Parker, H., Garrett-Ostermiller, J. (in press). Undergraduate student reaction to choice-based assessment: increased engagement, decreased stress, and enhanced self-efficacy. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching.

Schoenberg, H. L., *Bremer, G. P., *Carasi-Schwartz, F., VonDoepp, S., Arnsten, C., Anacker, A. M. J., Toufexis, D. J. (2022). Cyclic estrogen and progesterone during instrumental acquisition contributes to habit formation in female rats. Hormones and Behavior, 142(2022), 105172. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105172

O’Reilly, K. C.+, Anacker, A. M. J.+, Rogers, T. D., Forsberg, C. G., Wang, J., Zhang, B., Blakely, R. D., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2020). A social encounter drives gene expression changes linked to neuronal function, brain development, and related disorders in mice expressing the serotonin transporter Ala56 variant. Neuroscience Letters, 21(730), 135027. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135027

Anacker, A. M. J., Moran, J. T., Santarelli, S., Forsberg, C. G., Rogers, T. D., Stanwood, G. D., Hall, B. J., Delpire, E., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Saxe, M. D. (2019). Enhanced social dominance and altered neuronal excitability in the prefrontal cortex of male KCC2b mutant mice. Autism Research, 12(5), 732-743. http://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2098

Rogers, T. D.+, Anacker, A. M. J.+, Kerr, T., Forsberg, C. G., Wang, J., Zhang, B., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2017). Effects of a social stimulus on gene expression in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome. Molecular Autism, 8, 30. http://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-017-0148-6 PMCID:PMC5481916

Simmler, L., Anacker, A. M. J., Levin, M. H., Vaswani, N. M., Gresch, P. J., Nackenoff, A. G., Anastasio, N. C., Stutz, S. J., Cunningham, K. A., Wang, J., Zhang, B., Henry, L. K., Stewart A, Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Blakely RD (2017). Blockade of the 5-HT transporter contributes to the behavioural, neuronal and molecular effects of cocaine. British Journal of Pharmacology, 174(16), 2716-2738. http://doi.org/10.1111/bph.13899 PMCID:PMC5522997 

Muller, C. L., Anacker, A. M. J., Rogers, T. D., Goeden, N., Keller, E. H., Wender, C. L. A., Wang, J., Anderson, G. M., Stanwood, G. D., Zhang, B., Blakely, R. D., Bonnin, A., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2017). Maternal serotonin transporter genotype alters placental function, forebrain serotonin, and neurodevelopment. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42, 427-436. http://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2016.166

Anacker, A. M. J., *Christensen, J. D., *LaFlamme, E. M., *Grunberg, D. M., Beery, A. K. (2016). Septal oxytocin administration impairs peer affiliation via V1a receptors in female meadow voles. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 68,156-162. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.02.025 PMCID:PMC4851907

Anacker, A. M. J., *Reitz, K. M., Goodwin, N. L., Beery, A. K. (2016). Stress impairs new but not established relationships in seasonally social voles. Hormones and Behavior, 79(52), 7. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.01.004 

Muller, C. L., Anacker, A. M. J., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2015). The serotonin system in autism spectrum disorder: from biomarker to animal models. Neuroscience, 321,(24), 41. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.11.010 PMCID:PMC4824539 DOI:

Anacker, A. M. J., Smith, M. L., Ryabinin, A. E. (2014). Establishment of stable dominance interactions in prairie vole peers: relationships with alcohol drinking and activation of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Social Neuroscience, 9(5), 484-94. http://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2014.931885 PMCID:PMC4349411 

Anacker, A. M. J., Ahern, T. H., Hostetler, C. M., Dufour, B. D., Smith, M. L., Cocking, D. L., Young, L. J., Loftis, J. M., Ryabinin, A. E. (2014). Drinking alcohol has sex-dependent effects on pair bond formation in prairie voles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(16), 6052-7. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320879111 PMCID:PMC4000860 

Anacker, A. M. J. & Beery, A. K. (2013). Life in groups: the roles of oxytocin in mammalian sociality. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 7, 185. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00185 PMCID:PMC3858648

Invited review for Research Topic: Oxytocin’s routes in social behavior: into the 21st century. 

Anacker, A. M. J. & Ryabinin, A. E. (2013). Identification of subpopulations of prairie voles differentially susceptible to peer influence to decrease high alcohol intake. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 4, 84. http://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2013.00084/full PMCID:PMC3701123 

Hostetler, C. M., Hitchcock, L. N., Anacker, A. M. J., Loftis, J. M., Young, L. J., Ryabinin, A. E. (2103). Comparative distribution of central neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the prairie (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow (M. pennsylvanicus) vole. Peptides, 40, 22-29. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.peptides.2012.12.008 PMCID:PMC3625676 

Hostetler, C. M., Anacker, A. M. J., Loftis, J. M., Ryabinin, A. E. (2012). Social housing and alcohol drinking in male-female pairs of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Psychopharmacology (Berl), 224(1), 121-32. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2836-4 PMCID:PMC3827960 

Anacker, A. M. J., Ahern, T. H., Young, L. J., Ryabinin, A. E. (2012). The role of early life experience and species differences in alcohol intake in microtine rodents. PLoS ONE 7(6),  e39753. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039753 PMCID:PMC3382173 

Anacker, A. M. J., Loftis, J. M., Ryabinin, A. E. (2011). Alcohol intake in prairie voles is influenced by the drinking level of a peer. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35(10), 1884-90. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01533.x PMCID:PMC3158264 

Giardino, W. J., Pastor, R., Anacker, A. M. J., Spangler, E., Cote, D. M., Li, J., Stenzel-Poore, M., Mark, G. P., Phillips, T. J., Ryabinin, A. E. (2011). Dissection of corticotropin-releasing factor system involvement in locomotor sensitivity to methamphetamine. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 10(1), 78-89. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2010.00641.x PMCID:PMC3025045 

Ford, M. M., Fretwell, A. M., Anacker, A. M. J., Crabbe, J. C., Mark, G. P., Finn, D. A. (2011). The influence of selection for ethanol withdrawal severity on traits associated with ethanol self-administration and reinforcement. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35(2), 326-37. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01348.x PMCID:PMC3058687 

Anacker, A. M. J., Loftis, J. M., Kaur, S., Ryabinin, A. E. (2011). Prairie voles as a novel model of socially-facilitated excessive drinking. Addiction Biology, 16(1), 92-107. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1369-1600.2010.00234.x PMCID:PMC2950896 

Anacker, A. M. J., Ryabinin, A. E. (2010). Biological contribution to social influences on alcohol drinking: evidence from animal models. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 7(2), 473-493. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph7020473 PMCID:PMC2872279 

Spangler, E., Cote, D. M., Anacker, A. M. J., Mark, G. P., Ryabinin, A. E. (2009). Differential sensitivity of the peri oculomotor urocortin-containing neurons to ethanol, psychostimulants and stress in mice and rats. Neuroscience, 160(1), 115-25. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.02.030 PMCID:PMC2668734