Dr. Benedetta Leuner
Contact Information
Job Title
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Admitting for AU27
- leuner.1@osu.edu
- Phone
- (614) 292-5218
Google Map
Education
- PhD, Rutgers University, 2005
- MS, Rutgers University, 2003
- BA, Lehigh University, 1997
Research Interests
Our lab conducts preclinical, translational research to address issues/questions that are specific to the female brain and women’s brain health. We are especially interested in the interactions among the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems within the context of pregnancy and how these contribute to alterations in behavior during motherhood under both normal conditions and in response to perturbations such as stress and opioid exposure. We also study the impact of contraceptive hormones on the brain and behavior with a particular focus on the neurodevelopmental period of adolescence.
Awards and Honors
- 2020: Fred Brown Research Award, Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University
- 2016: Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award Nominee, Denman Undergraduate Research Forum, The Ohio State University
- 2015: Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award Nominee, Denman Undergraduate Research Forum, The Ohio State University
- 2008: National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award
- 2008: Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Travel Award
- 2007: Society for Neuroscience Neuroscientist-Teacher Partner Travel Award
- 2004: Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Young Investigator Award
- 2003: Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Travel Award
- 2003: Conference Travel Award, Rutgers University
- 2002: Conference Travel Award, Rutgers University
- 1996: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Award for Undergraduate Research in Biological Sciences
Select Publications
- Haim, A., Albin-Brooks, C., Brothers, H., Breach, M., Leuner, B. (2025). Gestational stress disrupts dopamine and oxytocin signaling in the postpartum reward system of rats: implications for mood, motivation and mothering. Scientific Reports, 15 (1):1450. DOI.
- Dye, C. N., Webb, A. I., Fankhauser, M. P., Singleton, J .J., Kalathil, A., Ringland, A., Leuner, B., Lenz, K. M. (2024). Peripartum buprenorphine and oxycodone exposure impair maternal behavior and increase neuroinflammation in new mother rats. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 124:264-279. DOI.
- Lacasse, J. M., Heller, C., Kheloui, S., Ismail, N., Raval, A. P., Schuh, K. M., Tronson, N. C., Leuner, B. (2024). Beyond Birth Control: The Neuroscience of Hormonal Contraceptives. The Journal of Neuroscience, 44(40):e1235242024. DOI.
- Dye, C. N., Franceschelli, D., Leuner, B., Lenz, K. M. (2023). Microglia depletion facilitates the display of maternal behavior and alters activation of the maternal brain network in nulliparous female rats. Neuropsychopharmacology, 48(13):1869-1877. DOI.
- Dye, C., Lenz, K. M., Leuner, B. (2022). Immune System Alterations and Postpartum Mental Illness: Evidence From Basic and Clinical Research. Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 2:758748. DOI.
- Gilfarb, R. A., Leuner, B. (2022). GABA System Modifications During Periods of Hormonal Flux Across the Female Lifespan. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16:802530. DOI.
- Deems, N. P., Leuner, B. (2020). Pregnancy, postpartum and parity: Resilience and vulnerability in brain health and disease. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 57:100820. DOI.
- Haim, A., Julian, D., Albin-Brooks, C., Brothers, H. M., Lenz, K. M., Leuner, B. (2017). A survey of neuroimmune changes in pregnant and postpartum female rats. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 59:67-78. DOI.
- Leuner, B., Fredericks, P. J., Nealer, C., Albin-Brooks, C. (2014). Chronic gestational stress leads to depressive-like behavior and compromises medial prefrontal cortex structure and function during the postpartum period. PLoS One, 9(3):e89912. DOI.
- Leuner, B., Gould, E. (2010). Dendritic growth in medial prefrontal cortex and cognitive flexibility are enhanced during the postpartum period. The Journal of Neuroscience, 30(40):13499-503. DOI.
View additional publications in our faculty research database →