Rutgers University-New Brunswick · NeuroscienceHuda Lab
Rafiq Huda · New Brunswick, New Jersey
Research Focus
Dr. Rafiq Huda's lab at Rutgers University is focused on understanding how the brain's arousal mechanisms interact with alcohol consumption behaviors. By studying the anterior cingulate cortex and its role in these interactions, the lab aims to uncover the neurobiological underpinnings of alcohol use disorders. Through advanced techniques like two-photon imaging and optogenetics, research conducted here seeks to develop new therapeutic strategies for treating alcohol abuse.
alcohol use disorderarousal mechanismsprefrontal cortexneuronal activityethanol consumption
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate how VIP neuron-mediated disinhibition influences arousal levels.
AIM 02Explore the correlation between arousal-related ACC activity and ethanol consumption.
AIM 03Determine the impact of repeated ethanol consumption on VIP-mediated disinhibition and hyperarousal.
Skills the Lab Values
two-photon calcium imagingoptogeneticspupillometryex-vivo slice electrophysiologyanimal models
Output against the department
Publications30bottom 5% of dept.635th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations887bottom 5% of dept.640th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.