By Nella Letizia, WSU Libraries
PULLMAN, Wash. – As Washington State University classes resume this week, Erica Nicol has just the remedy for new and returning students who get the heebie-jeebies just opening the doors to campus libraries.
Photo: Raymond Quock, professor of pharmacology, observes effects of nitrous oxide in easing mouse’s anxiety. (Photo by Bob Hubner, WSU Photo Services.)Deep in your brain are a myriad of lock-and-tumbler type systems that, when activated, trigger the production of substances that can reduce pain or help you to deal with anxiety. Raymond Quock, professor of pharmacology, and his staff are trying to gain a better understanding of these systems by looking for and testing various “keys” that can activate these processes.Quock’s research is opening doors that allow his staff and others to explore how the brain and body work. His successes, and those of his … » More …