Kent Hutchison

Kent E. Hutchison

Professor
Email: kenth@unm.edu
Office: Logan 140
Phone: 505-277-7614

Degree Received
Ph.D., Oklahoma State University, 1995

Research Interests

Despite our best efforts over the last few decades, currently available treatments for addiction are, at best, modestly effective. Our lab has taken a two pronged approach to address the limited effectiveness of current treatments. To develop more effective pharmacotherapies, we have focused our attention on medications that target the basic neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms that are involved in the development and maintenance of addiction. To determine which individuals are most vulnerable to addiction and to determine which individuals might benefit most from a given treatment, we have focused our attention on genetic factors that might explain individual variation in the same basic neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms that influence the etiology of addiction.

One very important aspect to our research is the notion that having well defined phenotypes that are proximal to the underlying biological mechanisms is critical to the success of efforts designed to uncover genetic variation that contributes to these phenotypes. In other words, a rudimentary phenotype like whether a person smokes cigarettes (or not) is unlikely to be useful in a genetic study because of the sheer number of factors that may influence that phenotype. Much of our research to date has focused on refining the phenotype such that a given phenotype will be useful in a genetic study. To date, we have focused on acute responses to alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, publishing papers on pharmacological and genetic factors that influence these phenotypes. While acute responses to cues or the drugs themselves are useful phenotypes, we are currently working to develop phenotypes that are even more proximal to the neurobiology of addiction. Working with the MIND Institute, we have taken our laboratory based phenotypes to a neuroimaging environment and are integrating this approach with our recent efforts at identifying genetic variation that influences gene expression in post-mortem tissue samples taken from brain regions that are critical to the neurobiology of addiction. Thus, the genetic approach should yield valuable information about genetic variation that alters gene expression in critical brain areas. The neuroimaging approach will allow us to examine whether this genetic variation also has an impact in vivo on brain activation in response to a drug or drug-related cues.


List of Recent Publications
  • Ray, L.A., MacKillop, J., Leggio, L., Morgan, M., & Hutchison, K.E. (in press). Effects of naltrexone on cortisol levels in heavy drinkers. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior.

  • Ray, L.A., Bryan, A., MacKillop, J., McGeary, J., Hesterberg, K. & Hutchison, K.E. (in press). The Dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene exon III polymorphism, problematic alcohol use, and novelty seeking: direct and mediated genetic effects. Addiction Biology.

  • Ray, L.A., Hutchison, K.E., MacKillop, J., Miranda, R., Audette, A., Swift, R., & Monti, P. (2008). Effects of naltrexone during the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve. The American Journal on Addictions, 17: 257-264.

  • Hutchison, K.E. (2008). Alcohol Dependence: Neuroimaging and the Development of Translational Phenotypes. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

  • Filbey, F.M., Ray, L., Smolen, A., Claus, E.D., Audette, A., & Hutchison, K.E. (2008). Differential neural response to alcohol priming and alcohol taste cues is associated with DRD4 VNTR and OPRM1 genotypes. Alcoholism: Experimental and Clinical Research.

  • Rohsenow, D. J., Tidey, J. W., Miranda, R., McGeary, J. E., Swift, R. M., Hutchison, K. E., Sirota, A. D., & Monti, P. M. (in press). Olanzapine reduces urge to smoke and nicotine withdrawal symptoms in community smokers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.

  • Hutchison, K.E., Haughey, H., Niculescu, M., Schacht, J., Kaiser, A., Stitzel, J., Horton W.J., and Filbey, F. (2008). The incentive salience of alcohol: Translating the Effects of a Genetic Variant in CNR1. Archives of General Psychiatry.

  • Haughey, H, Ray, L, Finan, R., Villanuev, R., Niculescu, M., & Hutchison, K.E. (2008). The Human GABRA2 Gene Moderates the Acute Effects of Alcohol and Brain mRNA Expression. Genes, Brain, & Behavior.

  • Filbey, F.M., Claus, E., Audette, A.R., Niculescu, M., Banich, M.T., Tanabe, J., Du, Y.P., & Hutchison, K.E. (2008). Exposure to the Taste of Alcohol Elicits Activation of the Mesocorticolimbic Neurocircuitry. Neuropsychopharmacology, 33, 1391-1401.

  • Frank, M.J., Moustafa, A.A., Haughey, H.M., Curran, T., & Hutchison, K.E. (2007). Genetic triple dissociation reveals multiple roles for dopamine in reinforcement learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104 (41), 16311-16316.

  • McClernon, F.J., Hutchison, K.E., Rose, J.E., & Kozing, R.V. (2007). DRD4 VNTR polymorphism is associated with transient fMRI-BOLD responses to smoking cues. Psychopharmacology, 194 (4), 433-441. 12.

  • Ray, L., Rhee, S.H., Stallings, M.C., Knopik, V., & Hutchison, K.E. (2007). Examining the heritability of a laboratory-based smoking endophenotype: Initial Results from an experimental twin study. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 10(4), 546-553.

  • Tanabe, J., Crowley, T., Hutchison, K.E., Miller, D., Johnson, G., Du, Y., Zerbe, G., & Freedman, R. (2008). Ventral striatal blood flow is altered by acute nicotine but not withdrawal from nicotine. Neuropsychopharmacology, 33(3), 627-633.

  • Ray, L., Miranda, R., Kahler, C., Leventhal, A., Monti, P., Swift, R., & Hutchison, K.E. (2007). Pharmacological Effects of Naltrexone and Intravenous Alcohol on Craving for Cigarettes among Light Smokers: A Pilot Study. Psychopharmacology, 193 (4), 449-456.

  • van den Wildenberg, E, Janssen, R, Hutchison, K.E., van Breukelen, G., & Weirs, R.W. (2007). Polymorphisms of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4 VNTR) and cannabinoid receptor gene (CNR1) are not strongly related to cue-reactivity after alcohol exposure. Addiction Biology, 12 (2), 210-220.

  • Helstrom, A., Hutchison, K.E., & Bryan, A. (2007). Motivational enhancement therapy for high-risk adolescent smokers. Addictive Behaviors, 32 (10), 2404-2410.

  • Hutchison, K.E., Allen, D., Jepson, C., Lerman, C., Benowitz, N., Stitzel, J., Bryan, A., McGeary, J., & Haughey, H.M. (2007). CHRNA4 and Tobacco Dependence: From Gene Regulation to Treatment Outcome. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 1078-1086.

  • Ray, L.A. & Hutchison, K.E. (2007). A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study of the Effects of Naltrexone on Alcohol Sensitivity and Genetic Moderators of Medication Response. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 1069-1077.

  • Tanabe, J., Thompson, L., Claus, E., Dalwani, M., Hutchison, K., & Banich, M.T. (2007). Prefrontal cortex activity is reduced in gambling and non-gambling substance users during decision-making. Human Brain Mapping, 28 (12), 1276-1286.

  • Ray, L.A., Meskew-Stacer, S., & Hutchison, K.E. (2007). The relationship between prospective self-rating of alcohol sensitivity and craving and experimental results from two alcohol challenge studies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 68 (3), 379-384.

  • Rohsenow, D. J., Monti, P. M., Hutchison, K.E., Swift, R. S., MacKinnon, S. V., Sirota, A. D., & Kaplan, G. B. (2007). Naltrexone and high dose transdermal nicotine: Effects on nicotine withdrawal, urges, smoking, and effects of smoking. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 15, 81-92.

  • Bryan, A., Hutchison, K.E., Seals, D.S., & Allen, D.L. (2007). A transdisciplinary model integrating genetic, physiological, and psychological correlates of voluntary exercise. Health Psychology, 26, 30-39.  

  • Hutchison, K.E., Allen, D., Jepson, C., Lerman, C., Benowitz, N., Stitzel, J., Bryan, A., McGeary, J., & Haughey, H.M. (in press). CHRNA4 and Tobacco Dependence: From Gene Regulation to Treatment Outcome. Archives of General Psychiatry.

  • Ray, L.A., Bryan, A., & Hutchion, K.E. (2006). Psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome, dropout, and change processes in a pharmacological clinical trial for alcohol dependence. Addiction Disorders & Their Treatment, 5, 179-190.

  • Ray, L.A., McGeary, J.M., Marshall, E., & Hutchison, K.E. (2006). Risk factors for alcohol misuse: Examining heart rate reactivity to alcohol, alcohol sensitivity, and personality constructs. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 1959-1973.

  • Hutchison, K.E., Ray, L., Sandman, E., Rutter, M-C, Peters, A., Davidson, D., & Swift, R. (2006). The Effect of Olanzapine on Craving and Alcohol Consumption. Neuropsychopharmacology, 31(6), 1310-1317.

  • Hutchison, K.E., Stallings, M., McGeary, J.M., & Bryan, A. (2004). Population stratification in the case-control design: Fatal threat or red herring? Psychological Bulletin, 130, 66-79.

  • Hutchison, K.E., Wooden, A., Swift, R., McGeary, J., Adler, L., Paris, L. (2003). Olanzapine reduces craving for alcohol: A DRD4 VNTR polymorphism by pharmacotherapy interaction. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28, 1882-1888.

For more information, see http://www.mrn.org/kent-hutchison/kent-hutchison-ph.d.html

Current Graduate Lab Members

  Student/Research Interests
student
 Shirley Smith
The investigation of biological underpinnings related to substance abuse and addiction. Specifically, I am discovering the genetic components of alcoholism.