By Scientia Professor Fred Westbrook

Journal articles

Leake J; Shvetcov A; Clemens KJ; Kershaw K; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2025, 'The molecular substrates of second-order conditioned fear in the basolateral amygdala complex.', J Neurosci, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1087-24.2025

Hasebe K; Kendig MD; Kaakoush NO; Tajaddini A; Hesam-Shariati S; Frederick Westbrook R; Morris MJ, 2025, 'Pregnancy-related changes in microbiome are disrupted by obesogenic diet exposure: implications for offspring microbiome development', Food and Function, 16, pp. 4023 - 4034, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d4fo05674d

Wong FS; Thomas AB; Killcross S; Laurent V; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2025, 'Integration of sensory and fear memories in the rat medial temporal lobe', eLife, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/elife.101965.3

Tran DMD; Double KS; Johnston IN; Westbrook RF; Harris IM, 2025, 'Consumption of a diet high in fat and sugar is associated with worse spatial navigation ability in a virtual environment: Behavior, Psychology and Sociology', International Journal of Obesity, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41366-025-01776-8

Kennedy NGW; Lee JC; Killcross S; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2024, 'Prediction error determines how memories are organized in the brain', eLife, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/elife.95849.3

Leake J; Cardona LS; Mencevski F; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2024, 'Context and Time Regulate Fear Memory Consolidation and Reconsolidation in the Basolateral Amygdala Complex', Journal of Endocrinology, 44, pp. 1 - 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1698-23.2023

Fam J; Holmes N; Westbrook RF, 2024, 'Stimulating oxytocin receptors in the basolateral amygdala enhances stimulus processing: Differential and consistent effects for stimuli paired with fear versus sucrose in extinction and reversal learning', Psychoneuroendocrinology, 160, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106917

Leake J; Leidl DM; Lay BPP; Fam JP; Giles MC; Qureshi OA; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2024, 'What is learned determines how Pavlovian conditioned fear is consolidated in the brain', Journal of Neuroscience, 44, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0513-23.2023

Kennedy NGW; Holmes NM; Peng LWT; Frederick Westbrook R, 2024, 'The effects of extinction and an explicitly unpaired treatment on the reinforcing properties of a Pavlovian conditioned stimulus', Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 207, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107879

Lovibond PF; Westbrook RF, 2024, 'The Role of Expectancy in Pavlovian Conditioning', Psychological Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rev0000516

Chan YY; Lee JC; Fam JP; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2024, 'The Role of Uncertainty in Regulating Associative Change', Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Learning and Cognition, 50, pp. 77 - 98, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xan0000375

Keidar T; Williams-Spooner MJ; Wong FS; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2023, 'NMDA Receptors in the Basolateral Amygdala Complex Are Engaged for Pavlovian Fear Conditioning When an Animal’s Predictions about Danger Are in Error', Journal of Neuroscience, 43, pp. 6679 - 6696, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0067-23.2023

Kendig MD; Leigh SJ; Hasebe K; Kaakoush NO; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2023, 'Obesogenic Diet Cycling Produces Graded Effects on Cognition and Microbiota Composition in Rats', Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 67, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202200809

Qureshi OA; Leake J; Delaney AJ; Killcross S; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2023, 'Danger Changes the Way the Brain Consolidates Neutral Information; and Does So by Interacting with Processes Involved in the Encoding of That Information', Journal of Neuroscience, 43, pp. 2934 - 2949, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1796-22.2023

Fam J; Chieng B; Westbrook RF; Laurent V; Holmes NM, 2023, 'Second-order fear conditioning involves formation of competing stimulus-danger and stimulus-safety associations', Cerebral Cortex, 33, pp. 1843 - 1855, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac176

Kendig MD; Hasebe K; Tajaddini A; Kaakoush NO; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2023, 'The Benefits of Switching to a Healthy Diet on Metabolic, Cognitive, and Gut Microbiome Parameters Are Preserved in Adult Rat Offspring of Mothers Fed a High-Fat, High-Sugar Diet', Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, 67, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202200318

Valenzuela M; Duncan T; Abey A; Johnson A; Boulamatsis C; Dalton MA; Jacobson E; Brunel L; Child G; Simpson D; Buckland M; Lowe A; Siette J; Westbrook F; McGreevy P, 2022, 'Autologous skin-derived neural precursor cell therapy reverses canine Alzheimer dementia-like syndrome in a proof of concept veterinary trial', Stem Cell Research and Therapy, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13287-022-02933-w

Holmes NM; Fam JP; Clemens KJ; Laurent V; Westbrook RF, 2022, 'The neural substrates of higher-order conditioning: A review', Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 138, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104687

Williams-Spooner MJ; Delaney AJ; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2022, 'Prediction Error Determines Whether NMDA Receptors in the Basolateral Amygdala Complex Are Involved in Pavlovian Fear Conditioning', Journal of Neuroscience, 42, pp. 4360 - 4379, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2156-21.2022

Hasebe K; Kendig MD; Kaakoush NO; Tajaddini A; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2022, 'The influence of maternal unhealthy diet on maturation of offspring gut microbiota in rat', Animal Microbiome, 4, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s42523-022-00185-w

Laurent V; Westbrook RF; Balleine BW, 2022, 'Affective Valence Regulates Associative Competition in Pavlovian Conditioning', Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.801474

Tajaddini A; Kendig MD; Prates KV; Frederick Westbrook R; Morris MJ, 2022, 'Male Rat Offspring Are More Impacted by Maternal Obesity Induced by Cafeteria Diet Than Females—Additive Effect of Postweaning Diet', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031442

Fam J; Clemens KJ; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ; Kendig MD, 2022, 'Chronic exposure to cafeteria-style diet in rats alters sweet taste preference and reduces motivation for, but not ‘liking’ of sucrose', Appetite, 168, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105742

Holmes NM; Wong FS; Bouchekioua Y; Westbrook RF, 2022, 'Not “either-or” but “which-when”: A review of the evidence for integration in sensory preconditioning', Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 132, pp. 1197 - 1204, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.032

Michalscheck RML; Leidl DM; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2021, 'The Opioid Receptor Antagonist Naloxone Enhances First-Order Fear Conditioning, Second-Order Fear Conditioning and Sensory Preconditioning in Rats', Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.771767

Finney CA; Shvetcov A; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ; Jones NM, 2021, 'Tamoxifen offers long-term neuroprotection after hippocampal silent infarct in male rats', Hormones and Behavior, 136, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105085

Fam J; Huff MJ; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2021, 'The effect of early list manipulations on the DRM illusion', Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74, pp. 1924 - 1934, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17470218211012620

Lingawi NW; Laurent V; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2021, 'Acquisition and extinction of second-order context conditioned fear: Role of the amygdala', Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 183, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107485

Finney CA; Shvetcov A; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ; Jones NM, 2021, 'The selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen protects against subtle cognitive decline and early markers of injury 24 h after hippocampal silent infarct in male Sprague-Dawley rats', Hormones and Behavior, 134, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105016

Kikas K; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2021, 'The separate and combined effects of a dangerous context and an epinephrine injection on sensory preconditioning in rats', Learning and Memory, 28, pp. 114 - 125, http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/LM.052324.120

Finney CA; Morris MJ; Westbrook RF; Jones NM, 2021, 'Hippocampal silent infarct leads to subtle cognitive decline that is associated with inflammation and gliosis at twenty-four hours after injury in a rat model', Behavioural Brain Research, 401, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113089

Kennedy NGW; Holmes NM; Westbrook RF, 2021, 'Latent inhibition is facilitated when a target stimulus is preexposed in compound with a nontarget stimulus, but only when the two stimuli coterminate: A test of the Hall-Rodriguez theory.', Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Learning and Cognition, 47, pp. 91 - 103, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xan0000289

Chan YY; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2021, 'Protecting the Rescorla–Wagner (1972) theory: A reply to Spicer et al. (2020).', Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Learning and Cognition, 47, pp. 211 - 215, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xan0000271

Leigh SJ; Kaakoush NO; Bertoldo MJ; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2020, 'Intermittent cafeteria diet identifies fecal microbiome changes as a predictor of spatial recognition memory impairment in female rats', Translational Psychiatry, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-0734-9

Leigh SJ; Kaakoush NO; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2020, 'Minocycline-induced microbiome alterations predict cafeteria diet-induced spatial recognition memory impairments in rats', Translational Psychiatry, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-0774-1

Albertella L; Le Pelley ME; Chamberlain SR; Westbrook F; Lee RSC; Fontenelle LF; Grant JE; Segrave RA; McTavish E; Yücel M, 2020, 'Reward-related attentional capture and cognitive inflexibility interact to determine greater severity of compulsivity-related problems', Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 69, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2020.101580

Leigh SJ; Kaakoush NO; Escorihuela RM; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2020, 'Treadmill exercise has minimal impact on obesogenic diet-related gut microbiome changes but alters adipose and hypothalamic gene expression in rats', Nutrition and Metabolism, 17, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12986-020-00492-6

Holmes NM; Chan YY; Westbrook RF, 2020, 'An application of wagner's Standard Operating Procedures or sometimes opponent processes (SOP) model to experimental extinction', Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Learning and Cognition, 46, pp. 215 - 234, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xan0000254

Finney CA; Proschogo NW; Snepvangers A; Holmes NM; Westbrook RF; Clemens KJ, 2020, 'The effect of standard laboratory diets on estrogen signaling and spatial memory in male and female rats', Physiology and Behavior, 215, pp. 112787, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112787

Crane JW; Holmes NM; Fam J; Westbrook RF; Delaney AJ, 2020, 'Oxytocin increases inhibitory synaptic transmission and blocks development of long-term potentiation in the lateral amygdala', Journal of Neurophysiology, 123, pp. 587 - 599, http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/JN.00571.2019

Finney CA; Shvetcov A; Westbrook RF; Jones NM; Morris MJ, 2020, 'The role of hippocampal estradiol in synaptic plasticity and memory: A systematic review', Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 56, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100818

Wong FS; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2020, '‘Online’ integration of sensory and fear memories', TheScienceBreaker, 06, http://dx.doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk304

Finney C; Morris M; Westbrook F; Jones N, 2020, 'Hippocampal silent infarct leads to subtle cognitive decline that is associated with inflammation and gliosis at twenty-four hours after injury in a rat model', , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.29.318204

Finney C; Shvetcov A; Westbrook F; Morris M; Jones N, 2020, 'The selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen protects against subtle cognitive decline and early markers of injury twenty-four hours after hippocampal silent infarct', , http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.15.383737

Kendig MD; Westbrook RF; Morris MJ, 2019, 'Pattern of access to cafeteria-style diet determines fat mass and degree of spatial memory impairments in rats', Scientific Reports, 9, pp. 13516, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50113-3

Abbott KN; Arnott CK; Westbrook RF; Tran DMD, 2019, 'The effect of high fat, high sugar, and combined high fat-high sugar diets on spatial learning and memory in rodents: A meta-analysis', Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, pp. 399 - 421, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.010

Albertella L; Le Pelley ME; Chamberlain SR; Westbrook F; Fontenelle LF; Segrave R; Lee R; Pearson D; Yücel M, 2019, 'Reward-related attentional capture is associated with severity of addictive and obsessive-compulsive behaviors', Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 33, pp. 495 - 502, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/adb0000484

Wong FS; Westbrook RF; Holmes NM, 2019, '’online’ integration of sensory and fear memories in the rat medial temporal lobe', Elife, 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47085

Holmes NM; Chan YY; Westbrook RF, 2019, 'A combination of common and individual error terms is not needed to explain associative changes when cues with different training histories are conditioned in compound: A review of rescorla's compound test procedure', Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Learning and Cognition, 45, pp. 242 - 256, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xan0000204

Rosenberg H; McDonald S; Rosenberg J; Westbrook RF, 2019, 'Measuring emotion perception following traumatic brain injury: The Complex Audio Visual Emotion Assessment Task (CAVEAT)', Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 29, pp. 232 - 250, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2016.1273118

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