Physicians

Department / Division
Psychiatry

Address
508 Fulton Street
Durham, NC 27705

Office Telephone
919-286-0411

Fax Telephone
919-286-6811

Training

• PhD, Clinical-Experimental Psychology, Southern Illinois University–Carbondale, 1997

Residency

• Internship, Clinical Neuropsychology-Behavioral Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, 1995-1996

Fellowship

• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Behavioral Neuroscience-Clinical Neuropsychology, Duke University Medical Center

Clinical Interests
Application of clinical neuropsychology in forensic settings, neuropsychological evaluations to establish competency concerning TBI or neurodegenerative disorders

Research Interests
In collaboration with Dr. Scott Swartzwelder, research in our lab has focused on the neurodevelopmental effects of alcohol and other drugs of abuse. In particular, we have been interested in how and why adolescents are more sensitive to some effects of ethanol and THC (e.g., learning and memory) and less sensitive to other effects (e.g., sedation). Beginning in Fall 2011, my lab will begin a new line of research focused on potential pharmacotherapies for TBI and the basic underlying mechanisms of recovery of function following acquired brain injury. This work is funded by a Career Development Award from the Veterans Administration Biomedical Laboratory Research & Development service.

Industry Relationships and Collaborations (What's this?)

This faculty member has no reported relationships with industry.

Representative Publications
Acheson, SK; Moore, NL; Kuhn, CM; Wilson, WA; Swartzwelder, HS. The synthetic cannabinoid WIN 55212-2 differentially modulates thigmotaxis but not spatial learning in adolescent and adult animals. Neuroscience Letters. 2011;487:411-414. (2011) Abstract

Fleming, RL; Acheson, SK; Moore, SD; Wilson, WA; Swartzwelder, HS. GABA transport modulates the ethanol sensitivity of tonic inhibition in the rat dentate gyrus. Alcohol. 2011;45:577-583. (2011) Abstract

Moore, NL; Greenleaf, AL; Acheson, SK; Wilson, WA; Swartzwelder, HS; Kuhn, CM. Role of cannabinoid receptor type 1 desensitization in greater tetrahydrocannabinol impairment of memory in adolescent rats. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 2010;335:294-301. (2010) Abstract

White, AM; Jordan, JD; Schroeder, KM; Acheson, SK; Georgi, BD; Sauls, G; Ellington, RR; Swartzwelder, HS. Predictors of relapse during treatment and treatment completion among marijuana-dependent adolescents in an intensive outpatient substance abuse program. Substance Abuse. 2004;25:53-59. (2004) Abstract

Acheson, SK; Ross, EL; Swartzwelder, HS. Age-independent and dose-response effects of ethanol on spatial memory in rats. Alcohol. 2001;23:167-175. (2001) Abstract

Abou-Donia, MB; Abdel-Rahman, AA; Kishk, AM; Walker, D; Markwiese, BJ; Acheson, SK; Reagan, KE; Swartzwelder, S; Jensen, KF. Neurotoxicity of ethyl methacrylate in rats. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A. 2000;59:97-118. (2000) Abstract

Acheson, SK; Richardson, R; Swartzwelder, HS. Developmental changes in seizure susceptibility during ethanol withdrawal. Alcohol. 1999;18:23-26. (1999) Abstract

Acheson, SK; Stein, RM; Swartzwelder, HS. Impairment of semantic and figural memory by acute ethanol: age-dependent effects. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 1998;22:1437-1442. (1998) Abstract

Markwiese, BJ; Acheson, SK; Levin, ED; Wilson, WA; Swartzwelder, HS. Differential effects of ethanol on memory in adolescent and adult rats. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 1998;22:416-421. (1998) Abstract