Dumont | Biomedical and Molecular Sciences | School of Medicine

Eric C Dumont PhD

Position(s)

Associate Professor

Contact Info

613-533-6991

Faculty Bio

Eric Dumont received his Ph.D. in Pharmacodynamics and Biochemistry from the Universit de Montreal in 1999. He was a postdoctoral trainee at Universite Laval from 1999 to 2001 where he studied the neurobiology of stress and anxiety under the co-supervision of Drs. Guy Drolet and Denis Pare. He completed his postdoctoral formation at the Vollum Institute in Portland (Oregon, USA) where he studied drugs of abuse-induced synaptic adaptations under the supervision of Dr. John T. Williams. He is now Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at Queen's University. The overall goal of Dr. Dumont's research program is to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying compulsive behaviours. His laboratory attacks this question using a multi-faceted systems biological approach that considers critical and causal factors at the molecular, cellular, systems and behavioral levels. From a technical perspective, his laboratory combines a broad range of molecular, surgical, behavioral, and electrophysiological techniques that are essential for conducting state-of-the-art research in neurophysiology.

Research Interests

My research program aims at understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms governing behaviors in mammals. In particular, I try to understand how the brain resolves the adaptive conflict imposed by engagement in individual/species surviving behaviors despite several threats or negative consequences. In fact, numerous human mental health diseases including anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorders seem to result from a poor neurophysiological resolution of this conflict and we strive to discover the underlying cellular and molecular dysfunctions.

Selected Publications

Catherine P. Normandau, Ana Paula Ventura-Silva, Emily R. Hawken, Staci Angelis, Calvin Sjaarda, Xudong Liu, José Miguel Pêgo, Éric C. Dumont. Neurotensin is key in chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behavior in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018 Jan; 43(2):285-293.

Matthieu F Bastide, Christelle Glangetas, Evelyne Doudnikoff, Li Quin, Mathieu Bourdenx, Pierre-Olivier Fernagut, Éric C. Dumont, François Georges, and Erwan Bézard. Involvement of extra-striatal brain regions in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Sci Rep. 2017. 7(1): 2348.

James Gardner Gregory, Emily R. Hawken, Tomek J. Banasikowski, Éric C. Dumont and Richard J. Beninger. A response strategy predicts acquisition of schedule-induced polydipsia in rats. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2015 Aug 3; 61:37-43.

Julian deBacker, Emily R. Hawken, Catherine P. Normandeau, Andrea A. Jones, Cynthia Di Prospero, Elisya Mechefske, Scott J. Hayton, and Éric C. Dumont. GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors blockade rescues bidirectional synaptic plasticity inthe bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of cocaine self-administering rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015. Jan; 40(2): 394-405.

Michal Krawczyk, Julian deBacker, Xenos Mason, Andrea A. Jones, and Éric C. Dumont. Dopamine decreases NMDA currents in the oval bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of cocaine self-administering rats. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Jun 3; 51: 83-8.

Michal Krawczyk, Xenos Mason, Julian deBacker, Robyn Sharma, Catherine P. Normandeau, Emily R. Hawken, Cynthia Di Prospero, Cindy Chiang, Audrey Martinez, Andrea A. Jones, Évelyne Doudnikoff, Stéphanie Caillé, Erwan Bézard, François Georges, and Éric C. Dumont. D1 dopamine receptor-mediated LTP at GABA synapses encodes motivation to self-administer cocaine in rats. J Neurosci. 2013, 33(29): 11960-71.

Michal Krawczyk, Robyn Sharma, Xenos Mason, Julian deBacker, Andrea A. Jones, Éric C. Dumont. A switch in the neuromodulatory effects of dopamine in the oval bed nucleus of the stria terminalis associated with cocaine self-administration in rats. J Neurosci., 2011, 31(24): 8928-35.

Michal Krawczyk, François Georges, Robyn Sharma, Xenos Mason, Amandine Berthet, Erwan Bézard, Éric C. Dumont. A double-dissociation in catecholaminergic modulation of synaptic transmission in the oval bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. J Neurophys, 2011, 105: 145-153.

Scott J Hayton, Matthew Lovett-Baron, Éric C. Dumont, Mary Cella Olmstead. Target-specific encoding of response inhibition: Increased contribution of AMPA to NMDA receptors at excitatory synapses in the prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci, 2010, 30(34): 11493-500.

Éric C. Dumont, Gregory P. Mark, Sarah Mader and John T. Williams. Self-administration enhances excitatory synaptic transmission in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Nat Neurosci, 2005, 8(4), 413-414.

Éric C. Dumont and John T. Williams. Noradrenaline triggers GABAA-inhibition of bed nucleus of the stria terminalis neurons projecting to the ventral tegmental area. J Neurosci, 2004, 24(38): 8198-204.

Team

Faculty Bio

Research Interests

Selected Publications

Faculty