Project Summary

Eric L. Barker, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2004) of Purdue University, notes that the endocannabinoids such as anandamide have multiple physiologic actions within the brain including alterations in mood, perception, and cognition. Furthermore, this system has been implicated in playing a role in the etiology of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and schizophrenia. Recent evidence suggests that drugs that inhibit anandamide uptake and breakdown may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and schizophrenia. Dr. Barker has developed a series of structurally novel anandamide transport inhibitors that will serve as "lead" compounds for the development of a new class of selective anandamide reuptake inhibitors (SARIs). He will generate additional SARI's based upon his novel SARI structures that exhibit high-affinity for the anandamide transport process and low-affinity for other targets such as metabolizing enzymes as well as cannabinoid and other neurotransmitter receptors. He will also examine our SARI's for activity in behavioral models in rats. These studies will provide important new information about drugs that modulate the endocannabinoid system and further validate the anandamide reuptake system as a therapeutic target in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Program Area: MULTIPLE FOCUS AREAS\Anxiety Disorders/Schizophrenia

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