• June 2026 – Congratulations to Charles on his first paper! Levy et al, 2026
• June 2026 – Congratulations to Charles for winning the Gordis Research Award at the annual Research Society on Alcohol meeting! This is the highest research award given to trainees by the society.
• June 2026 – Dr. Salinas and Charles each presented at the annual Research Society on Alcohol meeting
• May 2026 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at the Dopamine2026 Conference
• May 2026 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at the Volterra Conference on Alcoholism and Stress: A framework for future Treatment Strategies
• May 2026 – Congrats to Julianna for graduating from Centenary College of Louisiana!
• April 2026 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• April 2026 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy
• January 2026 – Congratulations to Logan on his first paper! Slade et al, 2026
• January 2026 – Welcome Emily Landry to the lab!
• November 2025 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at LSU Health New Orleans, Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy
• October 2025 – Collaborative review (Sharma et al, 2025) with many other LSUHS researchers published!
• October 2025 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at Texas A&M University, Institute for Neuroscience
• September 2025 – Welcome Julianna Malloy to the lab!
• August 2025 – Welcome Jayden Mack to the lab!
• May 2025 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present (virtually) at the Brazilian Meeting on Cutting-Edge Techniques for Studying Neuronal Function
• April 2025 – The Salinas lab (Charles & Jacob) presented posters at the Louisiana Society for Neuroscience annual meeting
• March 2025 – Dr. Salinas was the plenary speaker at the International Congress on Neuropsychiatric Illnesses and Addictions
• February 2025 – Dr. Salinas was invited to present at the Metabolism in Neurological Diseases Quarterly Meeting
• January 2025 – Congratulations to Charles on this Louisiana Addiction Research Center Predoctoral Fellowship!

The Salinas lab studies the role of the basal ganglia in neurodegenerative disorders and motivated behaviors, including alcohol and substance use disorders. More specifically, we are interested in the interaction of neurotransmitter systems (e.g. dopamine and acetylcholine) to modulate synaptic plasticity and the neural circuits that shape behavior under normal and pathological conditions. The lab employs traditional pharmacology, behavior, electrophysiology and electrochemistry techniques coupled with chemo- and optogenetic tools (including fluorescent biosensors for various neurotransmitters) to carry out our research objectives. 

The lab is currently funded by a NIH K99R00 Pathway to Independence and R03 grants to study the role of striatal cholinergic interneurons in chronic alcohol-induced cognitive deficits in mouse and nonhuman primate models. The overarching hypothesis is that chronic alcohol exposure will result in hypofunctional striatal cholinergic circuits that contribute to cognitive flexibility deficits observed in alcohol use disorder. Thus, we expect that chemogenetic activation of striatal cholinergic interneurons will rescue striatal cholinergic function and ameliorate cognitive flexibility deficits. Other studies in the lab will explore the role of striosome and matrix compartments of the striatum in reinforcement and motivated behaviors. We will also follow up on previous work examining the beneficial effects of a ketone ester-enriched diet on motor and nonmotor Parkinsonian symptoms.  If interested, please feel free to read specific project descriptions on the lab website and reach out with any questions.

Selected Publications

1. Levy CC, Cuzon Carlson VC, Grant KA, Salinas AG. (2026) Chronic ethanol self-administration alters dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen of rhesus macaques in a sex-dependent manner. Neuropsychopharmacology 2026 June.

2. Slade LE, Levy CC, Mitcham JT, Schichtel MC, Salinas AG (2026) Neurotoxic effects of chronic ethanol on cholinergic interneurons in the dorsomedial striatum. Neuropharmacology (282) 2026 Jan.

3. Sharma P, Sawaya MF, Dumitrescu AM, Kolluru GK, Schmoutz CD, Salinas A, Cannon CE, Kumbhare D, Korneeva N, Vest MF, Wood BJ, Bracey P, McNeil S, Kaye AD, Murnane SE, Jordan J, Keys K, Brackett E, Avadhanula K, Murnane KS. (2025) Novel neurotherapeutic targets for substance use disorders: Neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation, gasotransmitters and non-canonical organ systems. Neurotherapeutics. 2025 Oct;22(6):e00770.

4. Mahajan V R, Nadel JA, King MT, Pawlosky RJ, Davis MI, Veech RL., Lovinger DM, Salinas AG. (2024). Ketone ester–enriched diet ameliorates motor and dopamine release deficits in MitoPark mice. European Journal of Neuroscience, 60(11), 6875–6890.

5. Salinas AG, Lee JO, Augustin SM, Zhang S, Patriarchi T, Tian L, Morales M, Mateo Y, Lovinger DM. Distinct sub-second dopamine signaling in dorsolateral striatum measured by a genetically-encoded fluorescent sensor. Nat Commun. 2023 Sep 22;14(1):5915.

6. Salinas AG, Nadel JA, Mateo Y, Huynh T, Augustin SM, Pacak K, Lovinger DM. Chronic Ethanol Consumption Alters Presynaptic Regulation of Dorsal Striatal Dopamine Release in C57BL/6J Mice. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Sep 20;23(19)

7. Liu Z, Yang N, Dong J, Tian W, Chang L, Ma J, Guo J, Tan J, Dong A, He K, Zhou J, Cinar R, Wu J, Salinas AG, Sun L, Kumar M, Sullivan BT, Oldham BB, Pitz V, Makarious MB, Ding J, Kung J, Xie C, Hawes SL, Wang L, Wang T, Chan P, Zhang Z, Le W, Chen S, Lovinger DM, Blauwendraat C, Singleton AB, Cui G, Li Y, Cai H, Tang B. Deficiency in endocannabinoid synthase DAGLB contributes to early onset Parkinsonism and murine nigral dopaminergic neuron dysfunction. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 17;13(1):3490

8. Sun F, Salinas AG, Filser S, Blumenstock S, Medina-Luque J, Herms J, Sgobio C. Impact of α-synuclein spreading on the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway depends on the onset of the pathology. Brain Pathol. 2022 Mar;32(2):e13036.

9. Salinas AG, Mateo Y, Cuzon Carlson VC, Stinnett GS, Luo G, Seasholtz AF, Grant KA, Lovinger DM. (2021) Long-term alcohol consumption alters dorsal striatal dopamine release and regulation by D2 dopamine receptors in rhesus macaques. Neuropsychopharmacology. 46, 1432-1441 
10. Salinas AG and Mateo Y.  (2020)  Regionally distinct dopamine release dynamics between striosome and matrix compartments of the striatum:  Role in basal ganglia disorders. “Compendium of In Vivo Monitoring in Real-time Molecular Neuroscience, Vol. III” Wilson, G.S. and Michael, A.C., Eds., World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 2020. 
11. Blackwell KT, Salinas AG, Tewatia P, English B, Hellgren-Kotaleski J, Lovinger DM.  (2019)  Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Striatal Synaptic Plasticity: Relevance to Chronic Alcohol Consumption and Seeking.  European Journal of Neuroscience. 49 (6): 768-783. 
12. Abrahao KP*, Salinas AG*, Lovinger DM.  (2017)  Alcohol and the brain: molecular targets, synapses, and circuits. Neuron. 96 (6):  1223-1238.  *equal contribution 
13. Sgobio C, Wu J, Zheng W, Chen X, Pan J, Salinas AG, Davis MI, Lovinger DM, Cai H.  (2017)  Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1-positive nigrostriatal dopaminergic fibers exhibit distinct projection pattern and dopamine release dynamics in mouse dorsal striatum.  Scientific Reports. 7, 5283. 
14. Hawes SL, Salinas AG, Lovinger DM, Blackwell KT.  (2017)  Long term plasticity of corticostriatal synapses is modulated by pathway-specific co-release of opioids through kappa-opioid receptors. Journal of Physiology.  595 (16):  5637-5652. 
15. Salinas AG, Davis MI, Lovinger DM, Mateo Y.  (2016)  Dopamine release and cocaine sensitivity differ between striosome and matrix compartments of the striatum. Neuropharmacology.  108: 275-83. 
16. Salinas AG, Nguyen CTQ, Ahmadi-Tehrani D, Morrisett RA.  (2014)  Reduced ethanol consumption and preference in cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) knockout mice.  Addiction Biology. 19 (2): 175-84. 
17. Salinas A, Wilde JD, Maldve RE.  (2006)  Ethanol enhancement of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript mRNA and peptide expression in the Nucleus Accumbens. Journal of Neurochemistry. 97 (2): 408-415. 

Complete List of my Published Work in MyBibliography: LEARN MORE
 

Post-doctoral Fellows

While we are not currently recruiting Post-doctoral Fellows, quality candidates will always be considered.  To enquire about opportunities, contact Dr. Salinas at Armando.Salinas@lsuhs.edu.

Graduate Students

Graduate students interested in conducting research in the Salinas Lab should review the current laboratory research directions and contact Dr. Salinas at Armando.Salinas@lsuhs.edu.

Medical Students, Residents and Fellows

The Salinas lab has a limited number of research projects available for medical students, residents, and fellows interested in the neurobiology of alcohol use disorder.

Research Associate

We are looking for a research associate to join the lab and assist with ongoing projects. Interested applicants should reach out to Dr. Salinas to learn more about the position and projects at Armando.Salinas@lsuhs.edu.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

We are not currently hiring any additional undergraduates. However, positions can become available during the summer.
 

Contact Us

LSU Health Shreveport
Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience
1501 Kings Hwy
Shreveport, LA 71103

Email: Armando.Salinas@lsuhs.edu
Office: (318) 675-7874