David Overstreet, Ph.D.

Office: 3011A Thurston Bowles
Phone: (919) 966-0505
Email: dhover@med.unc.edu

Summary Statement:
Dr. Overstreet's research as part of the Preclinical Psychogenetics Research Team has discovered that Inbred Fawn-Hooded rats voluntarily drank large amounts of alcohol, providing a strong genetic link in an animal model for alcohol preference and ability to drink large amounts of alcohol.   The group's research has also confirmed the association between the high voluntary consumption of saccharin as well as alcohol in alcohol-preferring rats, and established a similar relationship between sweet-liking and alcohol intake in humans.  They have found an ancient Chinese herbal medicine reduced alcohol intake in alcohol-preferring rats and alcohol-drinking monkeys and have isolated a pure compound from the Chinese herb which also reduced alcohol intake in rats.

Representative Publications:
Click here for a list of publications from

1. Lavi-Avnon Y, Weller A, Finberg JP, Gispan-Herman I, Kinor N, Stern Y, Schroeder M, Gelber V, Bergman SY, Overstreet DH, Yadid G. The reward system and maternal behavior in an animal model of depression: a microdialysis study. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008 Feb;196(2):281-91.
2. Knapp DJ, Overstreet DH, Angel RA, Navarro M, Breese GR. The amygdala regulates the antianxiety sensitization effect of flumazenil during repeated chronic ethanol or repeated stress. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Nov;31(11):1872-82.
3. Overstreet DH, Knapp DJ, Breese GR. Drug challenges reveal differences in mediation of stress facilitation of voluntary alcohol drinking and withdrawal-induced anxiety in alcohol-preferring P rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Sep;31(9):1473-81.
4. Breese GR, Knapp DJ, Overstreet DH, Navarro M, Wills TA, Angel RA. Repeated Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or Cytokine Treatments Sensitize Ethanol Withdrawal-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Jun 6; [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 17551540 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
5. Rezvani AH, Overstreet DH, Cleves M, Parsian A. Further genetic characterization of the fawn-hooded (FH/Wjd) rat, an animal model of comorbid depression and alcoholism. Psychiatr Genet. 2007 Apr;17(2):77-83.
6. Knapp DJ, Overstreet DH, Breese GR. Baclofen blocks expression and sensitization of anxiety-like behavior in an animal model of repeated stress and ethanol withdrawal. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Apr;31(4):582-95.
7. Rezvani AH, Overstreet DH, Levin ED, Rosenthal DI, Kordik CP, Reitz AB, Vaidya AH. Effects of atypical anxiolytic N-phenyl-2-[1-[3-(2-pyridinylethynyl)benzoyl]-4-piperidine]acetamide (JNJ-5234801) on alcohol intake in alcohol-preferring P rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Jan;31(1):57-63.
8. Patra B, Overstreet DH, Rezvani AH, Cleves M, Parsian A. Analysis of alcohol-related phenotypes in F2 progeny derived from FH/Wjd and ACI/N rat strains reveals independent measures and sex differences. Behav Brain Res. 2006 Dec 9.
9. Overstreet DH, Rezvani AH, Djouma E, Parsian A, Lawrence AJ. Depressive-like behavior and high alcohol drinking co-occur in the FH/WJD rat but appear to be under independent genetic control. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2007;31(1):103-14. 2006 Sep 18.
10. Overstreet DH, Rezvani AH, Cowen M, Chen F, Lawrence AJ. Modulation of high alcohol drinking in the inbred Fawn-Hooded (FH/Wjd) rat strain: implications for treatment. Addict Biol. 2006 Sep;11(3-4):356-73.