UMCUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · Neuroscience
Alcohol and Sleep Research Unit
Danny G. Winder · Worcester, Massachusetts
Research Focus
Dr. Danny Winder's research lab focuses on understanding how alcohol affects sleep and the brain's arousal pathways, especially in individuals with alcohol use disorders. Their work aims to uncover the complex mechanisms linking alcohol consumption with sleep disturbances, using advanced techniques to analyze how specific brain pathways are influenced by alcohol. This research is important for developing better treatments for sleep issues related to alcohol dependence.
alcohol use disordersleep disturbancesnorepinephrinedopaminevPAG signalingarousal pathwayethanol exposuresleep behaviorbrain mechanisms
Research Aims
4AIM 01Investigate how acute and chronic alcohol exposure affects the norepinephrine and dopamine signaling pathway.
AIM 02Explore the role of the ventral periaqueductal gray in alcohol-related sleep disturbances.
AIM 03Understand the relationship between alcohol use and sleep behavior in individuals with alcohol use disorder.
AIM 04Identify potential therapeutic targets for treating sleep issues related to alcohol dependence.
Skills the Lab Values
animal behavior studiesin vivo experimentsimmunohistochemistrymRNA expression analysiselectrophysiologybehavioral assaysneuropharmacologydata analysis using Rcell culture techniques
Output against the department
Publications190top 39% of dept.261st of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations9.7ktop 41% of dept.277th 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.