Pietro Cottone, PhD

Dr. Cottone is co-director of the Laboratory of Addictive Disorders. Dr. Cottone's research interests focus on the neurobiological substrates of motivated behaviors including feeding and addiction. The major goal of Dr. Cottone's research is identifying the biological bases of and potential treatments for eating disorders and obesity. Current studies concern the role of stress in compulsive eating and palatable food dependence. Areas of focused research include the investigation of the...See more

Dr. Cottone is co-director of the Laboratory of Addictive Disorders. Dr. Cottone's research interests focus on the neurobiological substrates of motivated behaviors including feeding and addiction. The major goal of Dr. Cottone's research is identifying the biological bases of and potential treatments for eating disorders and obesity. Current studies concern the role of stress in compulsive eating and palatable food dependence. Areas of focused research include the investigation of the neurobiological bases of stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression. Dr. Cottone's studies are carried out on environmental and genetic animal models, using behavioral, biochemical, and molecular approaches. Dr. Cottone co-directs a graduate course in neuropsychopharmacology offered for the first time in Fall 2010 which examines the interaction between behavior and classes of drugs that affect the central nervous system. See less