Phone: (706) 721-9462

Fax: (706) 721-2347

Email: aterry@mail.mcg.edu
Office: CB-3618


Grant Support | Current Projects | Lab | Honors & Awards | Invited Speaker | Selected Publications |

Dr. Alvin Terry's research interests involve investigating the role of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) in memory function, and how it is altered by diseases like schizophrenia and Alzheimer's Disease as well as toxins that are found in the environment such as organophosphate insecticides. He is also interested in how drugs used to treat the neurologic and psychiatric conditions listed above affect the acetylcholine (cholinergic) system in the brain.

2003-2007 National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health
1 R01 MH 066233-01A1 Antipsychotics: Temporal Effects on Cognitive Function
$1,052,823 ($900,000-direct costs)
Role in project: Principal Investigator

2003-2007 National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 1 R01 ES012241-01A1 Cholinesterase Inhibitors, Axonal Transport, and Memory
$1,099,760 ($950,000-direct costs)
Role in project: Principal Investigator

One major project in Dr. Terry's lab is entitled "Antipsychotics Temporal Effects on Cognitive Function". In this project, Dr. Terry's laboratory is evaluating and comparing both the older and newer drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other mental disorders called first and second generation neuroleptics to determine how they affect cognitive function when administered for extended periods of time. The drugs are administered to rodents for 45, 90 or 180 days. During this time the test subjects undergo a battery of behavioral tests to assess memory function. At the end of the behavioral testing phase, the effects of the drug on brain areas that are involved in memory function are assessed. Another major project in Dr. Terry's lab is entitled: "Cholinesterase Inhibitors, Axonal Transport, and Memory". In this project Dr's Terry's research group is investigating the effects of very low doses of organophosphates, compounds used in insecticides or in nerve gas, on the cholinergic nervous system and memory function. Pesticides are ubiquitous in the environment and detectible in humans worldwide. While the acute toxicity of this class of agents is reasonably well known, the effects of repeated exposure to low levels of these substances (i.e., subthreshold doses) on the brain and memory function is not well known (i.e., the focus of this research project

Christiana Wilson - Graduate Student.

• The Rho Chi Society (Pharmacy Honor Society, Inducted, Nov. 1988)
• Sigma Xi Scientific Research Award (First Place) April, 1991
• Sigma Xi Scientific Society (Inducted as Full Member, 1995)
• American Heart Association (Grant in Aid Award, July, 1996)
• MCG Creativity Award, April 26, 2006.

Antipsychotic Drugs: Temporal Effects on Cholinergic Neurons and Cognitive Function".
Presented to the Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, February 15, 2002.

"Antipsychotics: Differential Effects on Growth Factors, Cholinergic Markers, and Memory Function"
Presented to the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy, Amarillo, Texas. September 20, 2002.

"Comparison of Galantamine and Donepezil for Effects on Nerve Growth Factor, Cholinergic Markers, and Behavioral Performance in Aged Rats".
Presentation made at the Janssen-Nicotinic Summit Investigator Meeting, Miami Florida, December 13, 2003.

"Antipsychotics: Differential Effects on Central Cholinergic Neurons, and Cognitive Function.
Presented to the College of Pharmacy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, June 11, 2004.

Ph.D. Dissertation (1991) "Synthesis, quantitation, and pharmacological actions of selenonium choline analogs"

Hernandez, C.M, and Terry, A.V., Jr. Repeated Nicotine Exposure in Rats: Effects on Memory Function, Cholinergic Markers and Nerve Growth Factor. Neuroscience 130:997-1012, 2005.

Terry, A.V., Jr ., Buccafusco, JJ., and Bartoszyk, GD4. Selective Serotonin 5HT2A Antagonist EMD 281014 Improves Delayed Matching Performance in Young and Aged Rhesus Monkeys. Psychopharmacology 179:725-732, 2005.

Hohnadel EJ, Hernandez CM, Gearhart DA, and Terry, A.V., Jr., Effect of Repeated Nicotine Exposure on High-Affinity Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Density in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats. Neuroscience Letters 382:158-163, 2005

Terry, A.V., Jr ., Gearhart DA, Mahadik SP, Warsi S, Davis, LW, Waller, JL. Chronic exposure to typical or atypical antipsychotics in rodents: Temporal Effects on Central alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors. Neuroscience 136:519-529, 2005.

Terry, AV., Jr., Hernandez CM, Hohnadel EJ, Bouchard KP, and Buccafusco JJ. Cotinine. A Neuroactive Metabolite of Nicotine: Potential for Treating Disorders of Impaired Cognition. CNS Drug Reviews 11:229-252, 2005.

Gearhart DA, Middlemore, ML, and Terry, A.V., Jr. ELISA Methods to Measure Cholinergic Markers and Nerve Growth Factor Receptors in Cortex, Hippocampus, Prefrontal Cortex, and Basal Forebrain from Rat Brain. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 150: 159-173, 2006

Hernandez CM, Gearhart DA, Parikh V, Hohnadel EJ, Davis LW, Middlemore ML, Warsi S, Waller JL, and Terry, AV., Jr. Comparison of Galantamine and Donepezil for Effects on Nerve Growth Factor, Cholinergic Markers, and Memory Performance in Aged Rats Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 316:679-694, 2006.

Pillai A, Terry AV Jr, Mahadik SP. Differential effects of long-term treatment with typical and atypical antipsychotics on NGF and BDNF levels in rat striatum and hippocampus. Schizophrenia Research 82:95-106, 2006.

Terry, AV., Jr., Gearhart DA, Mahadik SP, Warsi, S, and Waller, JL. Chronic Treatment with First or Second Generation Antipsychotics in Rodents: Effects on High Affinity Nicotinic and Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Brain. Neuroscience 140:1277-1287, 2006.

Terry, AV., Jr., Parikh V, Gearhart DA, Pillai, Hohnadel EJ, Warner, S, Nasrallah, HA, and Mahadik SP. A Time Dependent Effects of Haloperidol and Ziprasidone on Nerve Growth Factor, Cholinergic Neurons, and Spatial Learning in Rats. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 318:709-724, 2006

Williamson LN, Terry AV Jr, Bartlett MG. Determination of chlorpyrifos and its metabolites in rat brain tissue using coupled-column liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 20:2689-2695, 2006.

Pillai, A., Parikh V, Terry, AV., Jr., and Mahadik SP. Long-term Antipsychotic Treatments and Crossover Studies in Rats: Differential Effects of Typical and Atypical Agents on the Expression of Antioxidant Enzymes and Membrane Lipid Peroxidation in Rat Brain. Journal of Psychiatric Research 41: 372-386, 2007.

Hohnadel EJ, Bouchard K, and Terry, AV., Jr. Galantamine and Donepezil Attenuate Pharmacologically Induced Deficits in Prepulse Inhibition in Rats. Neuropharmacology 52: 542-551, 2007.

Terry, AV., Jr., and Mahadik SP. Time Dependent Cognitive Deficits Associated with First and Second Generation Antipsychotics: Cholinergic Dysregulation as a Potential Mechanism. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 320:961-968, 2007

Gearhart DA, Sickles DW, Buccafusco JJ, Prendergast MA, Terry AV Jr. Chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-oxon, and diisopropylfluorophosphate inhibit kinesin-dependent microtubule motility. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 218:20-29, 2007.

Williamson LN, Terry AV Jr, , Bartlett MG. Determination of Chlorpyrifos and its Metabolites in Rat Blood Using Liquid Chromatography/ Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies 30:273-285, 2007.

Buccafusco JJ, Shuster LC, Terry AV Jr. Disconnection between activation and desensitization of autonomic nicotinic receptors by nicotine and cotinine. Neuroscience Letters 413:68-71, 2007.

Zhang G, Terry AV Jr, Bartlett MG. Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of olanzapine, risperidone, 9-hydroxyrisperidone, clozapine, haloperidol and ziprasidone in rat plasma. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 21:920-928, 2007.

Prendergast MA, Self RL, Smith KJ, Ghayoumi L, Mullins MM, Buccafusco JJ, Gearhart DA, Terry AV Jr. Microtubule-Associated Targets in Chlorpyrifos Oxon Hippocampal Neurotoxicity. Neuroscience 146: 330-339, 2007.

Terry, AV., Jr., Gearhart DA, Warner SE, Zhang G, Bartlett MG, Middlemore, ML, Beck WD, Mahadik SP, and Waller JL. Oral haloperidol or risperidone treatment in rats: Temporal effects on nerve growth factor receptors, cholinergic neurons, and memory performance. Neuroscience 146:1316-1332, 2007.

Buccafusco JJ, Powers JC, Hernandez MA, Prendergast MA, Terry AV, Jonnala RR. MHP-133, a Drug with Multiple CNS Targets: Potential for Neuroprotection and Enhanced Cognition. Neurochemical Research 32:1224-1237, 2007.

Zhang G, Terry AV Jr, Bartlett MG. Sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of the lipophilic antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine in rat plasma and brain tissue. Journal of Chromatography B 854: 68-76, 2007.

Buckley PF, Mahadik SP, Pillai, A., and Terry AV Jr. Neurotrophins and Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 94: 1-11, 2007.

Terry AV Jr., Gearhart DA, Beck WD, Truan JN, Middlemore, ML, Williamson LN, Bartlett MG, Prendergast MA, Sickles DW, and Buccafusco JJ. Chronic, Intermittent Exposure to Chlorpyrifos in Rats: Protracted Effects on Axonal Transport, Neurotrophin Receptors, Cholinergic Markers, and Information Processing. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2007 (in press).

Terry AV Jr., Gearhart DA. Time dependent decreases in central 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors associated with haloperidol and risperidone treatment in rats. European Journal of Pharmacology, 2007 (in press).

Sood A, Beach JW, Webster SJ, Terry AV Jr., and Buccafusco JJ. The Effects of JWB 1-84-1 on Memory-Related Task Performance by Amyloid A Transgenic Mice and Aged Rhesus Monkeys. Neuropharmacology, 2007 (in press).

Zhang G, Terry AV Jr, Bartlett MG. Simultaneous determination of five antipsychotic drugs in rat plasma by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Journal of Chromatography B, 2007 (in press)