Changjiu Zhao

I received my B.A. in Clinical Medicine and M.A. in Neurology from Dalian Medical University, China. Then, I attended Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Japan, where I earned my Ph. D. in Functional Neuroanatomy studying the distribution and regulation of aromatase and steroid receptors such as androgen receptor (AR), estrogen Receptor (ER) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) by steroid hormones in the developing and adult rodent brain. I joined Dr. Ming Li's laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in January 2008 to conduct my post-doctoral training, as I am fascinated with behavioral neuropharmacology. Currently, I am investigating the behavioral and neurochemical mechanisms underlying the disruptive effects of antipsychotic drugs including typical haloperidol and atypical clozapine on maternal behavior in lactating rats. Knowledge gained from this preclinical work is expected to enhance the understanding of the extent to which antipsychotic drugs impact the quality of maternal care and provide further evaluation of these drug uses in mothers with schizophrenia in clinical practice. Future research work will seek to clarify how dopaminergic, serotonergic and glutamatergic systems function at cellular and molecular levels in the expression of maternal behavior deficits induced by antipsychotic drug treatment.