Tara Perrot

Education

BSc (Western University)
PhD (Western University)
PDF (University of Maryland School of Medicine)

Research Interests

Our research focuses on factors that influence development and maintenance of adaptive resilient responses to stressors. We have studied stress responding for many years from a variety of perspectives, including behavioural, hormonal and neural in both non-human animal models and humans. The factors we are most interested in that influence development of adult stress responding are those that occur during early life, such as prenatal stress and enriched postnatal environments. We are also interested in maintenance of a healthy stress response, which is influenced by factors such as age and sex. We are presently invesigating the interaction between the gut and the brain in the development and maintenance of a healthy stress response.

For more information, please see https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA626

Selected Publications

• Myles, EM, O’Leary, ME, Smith, R, MacPherson, CW, Oprea, A, Melanson, EH, Thompkins, TA, Perrot, TS. (2020) Supplementation with combined Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 across development reveals sex differences in physiological and behavioural effects of Western diet in Long-Evans rats. Microorganisms, 8(10), 1527 (doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8101527)
  
• Myles, EM*, O’Leary, ME*, Romkey, ID, Piano, A, de Carvalho, V, Tompkins, TA, Perrot, TS (2020) Guidelines for best practice in placebo-controlled experimental studies on probiotics in rodent animal models. Beneficial Microbes, in press (*contributed equally to this work).
• Nealis, LJ, Sherry, SB, Perrot, T, Rao, S (2020) Self-critical perfectionism, depressive symptoms, and HPA-axis dysregulation: Testing emotional and physiological stress reactivity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-020-09793-9
• Korgan, A, O’Leary, E, King, J, Weaver, I, Perrot, TS (2018) Effects of paternal high-fat diet and rearing environment on maternal investment and development of defensive responses in the offspring. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 91, 20-30.
• Green, A, Esser, MJ, Perrot, TS (2018) Developmental expression of anxiety and depressive behaviours after prenatal predator exposure and early life home cage enhancement. Behavioural Brain Research, S0166-4328(17)31465-1.
• Joshi, N, Leslie, R, Perrot, TS (2017) Analyzing the experiences of adolescent control rats: Absence of physical or social stimulation alters anxiety-like behaviour, dependent on test used. Physiology & Behaviour, 179, 30-41.
• Korgan, A, O’Leary, E, Bauer, J, Fortier, A, Weaver, ICG, Perrot, TS (2016) Effects of paternal predation risk and rearing environment on maternal investment and development of long-term defensive responses in the offspring. eNeuro, 3(6) e0231-16.2016 1–14.