Wayne Pratt

Wayne Pratt is a Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University, specializing in the neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying feeding behavior, motivation, and reward processing. His research focuses on the interactions between neurotransmitter systems (dopamine, serotonin, opioids) and brain regions (nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmentum) that regulate food intake, binge eating, and effort-based decision-making.

• Key Research Areas: Behavioral neuroscience, neuropharmacology, reward circuitry, obesity neurobiology
• Methodological Expertise: Rat models, receptor stimulation/blockade, effort-based choice tasks, reinstatement paradigms

Recent work examines how mu opioid and GLP-1 receptors modulate binge-like consumption, while earlier studies characterized serotonin receptor subtypes (5-HT2C, 5-HT6) in reward valuation. His findings contribute to understanding the neural basis of eating disorders and obesity.

Selected Collaborations: Investigated pharmacological agents (lorcaserin, D-fenfluramine) for anti-obesity properties, and explored corticostriatal-hypothalamic integration of energy balance and reward.