Melissa M. Holmes
Professor
Campus
UTM
CSB Appointment
Full
Research Areas
Animal Biology, Neurobiology
Education
Ph.D. Michigan State University 2005
M.A. University of British Columbia 2001
B.A. Simon Fraser University 1998
Primary Undergraduate Department
Psychology, UTM
Graduate Programs
Cell & Systems Biology
Research Description
My primary research interest is the reciprocal relationship between social interactions and adult plasticity in the mammalian brain.
Contact Information
Office Phone: 905-828-3956
Office: CCT408
Lab: DV1025
Lab Phone: 905-828-3874
Email
Mailing Address
Department of Cell & Systems Biology
University of Toronto
1265 Military Trail
Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4
Canada
Recent News
Publications
2014
Peripheral administration of oxytocin increases social affiliation in the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber)
Mooney SJ, Douglas NR, Holmes MM
2014, Hormones and behavior, 65, 380-5, 24530845
A game of thrones: neural plasticity in mammalian social hierarchies
Mooney SJ, Peragine DE, Hathaway GA, Holmes MM
2014, Social neuroscience, 9, 108-17, 24479868
2013
Differential effects of chronic fluoxetine on the behavior of dominant and subordinate naked mole-rats
Mongillo DL, Kosyachkova EA, Nguyen TM, Holmes MM
2014, Behavioural brain research, 258, 119-26, 24157335
Socially regulated reproductive development: analysis of GnRH-1 and kisspeptin neuronal systems in cooperatively breeding naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber)
Zhou S, Holmes MM, Forger NG, Goldman BD, Lovern MB, Caraty A, Kalló I, Faulkes CG, Coen CW
2013, The Journal of comparative neurology, 521, 3003-29, 23504961
Androgen receptor distribution in the social decision-making network of eusocial naked mole-rats
Holmes MM, Van Mil S, Bulkowski C, Goldman SL, Goldman BD, Forger NG
2013, Behavioural brain research, 256, 214-8, 23973387
2012
Altered anxiety and defensive behaviors in Bax knockout mice
Luedke AC, Boucher PO, Niel L, Holmes MM
2013, Behavioural brain research, 239, 115-20, 23142367
Maintenance of the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus neuromuscular system is not influenced by physiological levels of glucocorticoids
Niel L, Alves PA, Pinzon N, Holmes MM, Lovern MB, Monks DA
2012, Developmental neurobiology, 72, 1114-21, 21412989
2011
Effects of Bax gene deletion on social behaviors and neural response to olfactory cues in mice
Holmes MM, Niel L, Anyan JJ, Griffith AT, Monks DA, Forger NG
2011, The European journal of neuroscience, 34, 1492-9, 22034980
Social status and sex effects on neural morphology in Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis
Anyan JJ, Seney ML, Holley A, Bengston L, Goldman BD, Forger NG, Holmes MM
2011, Brain, behavior and evolution, 77, 291-8, 21701152
2010
Social and hormonal triggers of neural plasticity in naked mole-rats
Holmes MM, Seney ML, Goldman BD, Forger NG
2011, Behavioural brain research, 218, 234-9, 21130812
2009
Sexual dimorphism and hormone responsiveness in the spinal cord of the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster)
Holmes MM, Musa M, Lonstein JS, Monks DA
2009, The Journal of comparative neurology, 516, 117-24, 19575447
Neuroendocrinology and sexual differentiation in eusocial mammals
Holmes MM, Goldman BD, Goldman SL, Seney ML, Forger NG
2009, Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 30, 519-33, 19416733
2008
Social status and sex independently influence androgen receptor expression in the eusocial naked mole-rat brain
Holmes MM, Goldman BD, Forger NG
2008, Hormones and behavior, 54, 278-85, 18455726
2007
Social control of brain morphology in a eusocial mammal
Holmes MM, Rosen GJ, Jordan CL, de Vries GJ, Goldman BD, Forger NG
2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104, 10548-52, 17556547
Androgen dependent seasonal changes in muscle fiber type in the dewlap neuromuscular system of green anoles
Holmes MM, Bartrem CL, Wade J
2007, Physiology & behavior, 91, 601-8, 17477939
2005
Sexual differentiation of the copulatory neuromuscular system in green anoles (Anolis carolinensis): normal ontogeny and manipulation of steroid hormones
Holmes MM, Wade J
2005, The Journal of comparative neurology, 489, 480-90, 16025462
Normally occurring intersexuality and testosterone induced plasticity in the copulatory system of adult leopard geckos
Holmes MM, Putz O, Crews D, Wade J
2005, Hormones and behavior, 47, 439-45, 15777809
2004
Seasonal plasticity in the copulatory neuromuscular system of green anole lizards: a role for testosterone in muscle but not motoneuron morphology
Holmes MM, Wade J
2004, Journal of neurobiology, 60, 1-11, 15188267
Effects of testosterone on the development of neuromuscular systems and their target tissues involved in courtship and copulation in green anoles (Anolis carolinensis)
Lovern MB, Holmes MM, Fuller CO, Wade J
2004, Hormones and behavior, 45, 295-305, 15109903
Adult hippocampal neurogenesis and voluntary running activity: circadian and dose-dependent effects
Holmes MM, Galea LA, Mistlberger RE, Kempermann G
2004, Journal of neuroscience research, 76, 216-22, 15048919
Characterization of projections from a sexually dimorphic motor nucleus in the spinal cord of adult green anoles
Holmes MM, Wade J
2004, The Journal of comparative neurology, 471, 180-7, 14986311
The green anole (Anolis carolinensis): a reptilian model for laboratory studies of reproductive morphology and behavior
Lovern MB, Holmes MM, Wade J
2004, ILAR journal / National Research Council, Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, 45, 54-64, 14756155
2002
Low levels of estradiol facilitate, whereas high levels of estradiol impair, working memory performance on the radial arm maze
Holmes MM, Wide JK, Galea LA
2002, Behavioral neuroscience, 116, 928-34, 12369813