• PhD, Florida State University
  

Why do we continue to perform behaviors despite adverse consequences? More specifically, why do we take drugs and overeat when we are aware of the deleterious health effects? Ultimately, my research is aimed at elucidating the neurophysiological mechanisms that contribute to dysregulated behaviors including drug abuse and nonhomeostatic food consumption. Currently, my lab is examining how insular cortical dysfunction alters the salience of the reinforcing and aversive properties of drugs of abuse with an emphasis on how nicotine, acting within the insula, may promote susceptibility to polysubstance use. To address these questions, we employ a number of neurobehavioral techniques including circuit-specific chemogenetic manipulations and site-specific neuropharmacology to assess changes in motivated behavior.

• Honeycutt, S.C., Mukherjee, A., Paladino, M.S., Gilles-Thomas, E.A., Loney, G.C. (2024) Adolescent nicotine exposure promotes adulthood opioid consumption that persists despite adverse consequences and increases the density of insular perineuronal nets. Addiction Neuroscience. Jun;11:100150 doi: 10.1016/j.addicn.2024.100150
• Mukherjee, A., Gilles-Thomas, E.A., Kwok, H.Y., Shorter, C., Sontate, K.V., McSain, S.L., Honeycutt, S.C., Loney, G.C. (2024) Bilateral Insular Cortical Lesions Reduce Sensitivity to the Adverse Consequences of Acute Ethanol Intoxication in Pavlovian Conditioning Procedures. Alcohol (Hanover). Jun 4. doi: 10.1111/acer.15383. Online ahead of print.
• Honeycutt, S.C., Lichte, D.D., Gilles-Thomas, E.A., Mukherjee, A., Loney, G.C. (2024) Acute Nicotine Administration Reduces the Efficacy of Punishment in Curbing Remifentanil Consumption in a Seeking-Taking Chain Schedule of Reinforcement. Psychopharmacology May 22. doi: 10.1007/s00213-024-06613-w. Online ahead of print
• Mukherjee, A., Gilles-Thomas, E.A., McSain, S.L., Paladino, M.S., Sontate, K.V., Ezenwa, K.B., Honeycutt, S.C., Loney, G.C. (2023) Nicotine limits avoidance conditioning with opioids without interfering with the ability to discriminate an opioid-interoceptive state. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2023 Aug;229:173604. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2023.173604
• Mukherjee A, Paladino MS, McSain SL, Gilles-Thomas EA, Lichte DD, Camadine RD, Willock S, Sontate KV, Honeycutt SC, Loney GC. (2023) Escalation of alcohol intake is associated with regionally decreased insular cortex activity but not changes in taste quality. Alcohol (Hanover). May;47(5):868-881
  
• Honeycutt, S.C., Paladino, M.S., Camadine, R.D., Mukherjee, A., Loney, G.C. (2022) Acute nicotine treatment enhances compulsive-like remifentanil self-administration that persists despite contextual punishment. Addiction Biology May;27(3):e13170
• Loney, G.C., King, C.P., Meyer, P.J. (2021) Systemic nicotine enhances opioid self-administration and modulates the formation of opioid-associated memories partly through actions within the insular cortex. Sci Rep 11(1): 3321
• Loney, G.C., Eckel, L.A. (2021) The pattern of Fos-like immunoreactivity expressed across the medial-lateral axis of the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract is predictive of variation in the perceived taste quality of a stimulus. Chemical Senses 46(1)
• Angelyn, H., Loney, G.C., Meyer, P.J. (2021) Nicotine enhances goal-tracking in ethanol and food Pavlovian conditioned approach paradigms. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Aug 18;15:561766
• Banik, D.D., Benfey, E.D., Martin, L.M., Kay, K.E., Loney, G.C., Nelson, A.R., Ahart, Z.C., Kemp, B.T., Kemp, B.R., Vandenbeuch, A., Torregrossa A-M., Medler, K.F. (2019). Multiple PLC signaling pathways in taste receptor cells contribute to the detection of taste stimuli. Plos Genetics 13(16):e1008925
• Loney. G.C., Angelyn, H., Cleary, L.M., Meyer, P.J. (2019) Nicotine produces a high-approach, low-avoidance phenotype in response to alcohol-associated cues in male rats. Alcohol Clin and Exp Rsrch 43(6):1284-1295
• Loney, G.C., Meyer, P.J. (2019) Nicotine pre-treatment reduces sensitivity to the interoceptive stimulus effects of commonly abused drugs as assessed with taste conditioning paradigms. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 194: 341-350
• Loney, G.C., Pautassi, R.M. Kapadia, D., Meyer, P.J. (2018) Nicotine affects ethanol-conditioned taste, but not place, aversion in a simultaneous conditioning procedure. Alcohol 71: 47-55
• Maske, C.B., Loney G.C., Lilly N., Terrill S.J., Williams D.L. (2018) Intragastric nutrient infusion reduces motivation for food in male and female rats. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Jul 1;315(1):E81-E90
• Loney, G.C., Meyer, P.J. (2018) Brief exposures to the taste of ethanol and quinine promote subsequent acceptance of ethanol in a paradigm that minimizes post-ingestive consequences. Alcohol Clin and Exp Rsrch 42(3): 589-602