T.Chase Francis, PhD

Appalachian State University, BS, Biology, 2011

Appalachian State University, BA, Psychology, 2011

University of Maryland, Baltimore, PhD, Neuroscience, 2016

National Institute on Drug Abuse IRP, IRTA Post-doctoral Fellow, 2022

Dr. T. Chase Francis is a neuroscientist whose research focuses on how medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the nucleus accumbens regulate motivation, stress responses, and learning. He is widely regarded as an expert in intrinsic and synaptic electrophysiology of MSNs, using advanced cellular and circuit-level approaches to understand how these neurons integrate and relay information within the striatum. This expertise has been applied in the context of reward, motivation, stress, depression, sensory activity, and circadian rhythms. 

Dr. Francis was the first to demonstrate that changes in MSN electrical properties directly shape behavioral outcomes following stress. This work identified cell-type–specific adaptations that help explain why some individuals develop stress-related behavioral changes while others remain resilient. Building on this discovery, he subsequently identified a novel excitatory communication pathway between striatal neurons. This circuit operates through neuropeptides and acetylcholine, revealing an unexpected mode of intra-striatal communication.

The lab has since demonstrated that this neuropeptide–acetylcholine microcircuit is essential for learning about aversive or negative outcomes. This work has established key cellular mechanisms underlying aversive learning, offering new insight into how stress and negative experiences are encoded in the brain and pointing toward novel therapeutic targets. Ongoing studies are focused on defining how excitatory plasticity within the striatum and broader limbic regions contributes to stress-related behaviors, with the goal of informing the development of pharmacological and brain-stimulation approaches to treat stress-related disorders.

Behavioral depression, stress, striatum, basal ganglia, synaptic physiology, neuropeptides, dopamine, acetylcholine, medium spiny neurons, salience, aversive learning, sensory plasticity, brain stimulation

Belilos A, Gray C, Sanders C, Black D, Mays E, Richie C, Sengupta A, Hake H, Francis TC. Nucleus accumbens local circuit for cue-dependent aversive learning. Cell Rep. 2023 Dec 26;42(12):113488. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113488.

Ratna DD, Francis TC. Extrinsic and intrinsic control of striatal cholinergic interneuron activity. Front Mol Neurosci. 2025 Feb 12; 18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2025.1528419

Francis TC, Yano H, Demarest TG, Shen H, Bonci A. High-Frequency Activation of Nucleus Accumbens D1-MSNs Drives Excitatory Potentiation on D2-MSNs. Neuron. 2019 Aug 7;103(3):432-444.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.031.