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Nicole Calakos

Lincoln Financial Group Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology
Neurology, Movement Disorders
Duke Box 2900, Durham, NC 27710
311 Bryan Res Drive, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


We all know that as part of our daily lives we are constantly interacting with our environment - learning, adapting, establishing new memories and habits, and for better or for worse, forgetting as well. At the cellular level, these processes can be encoded by changes in the strength of synaptic transmission between neurons. The process by which neuronal connections change in response to experience is known as “synaptic plasticity” and this process is a major interest of our laboratory. Our …

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Lincoln Financial Group Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology · 2020 - Present Neurology, Movement Disorders, Neurology
Professor in Neurology · 2018 - Present Neurology, Movement Disorders, Neurology
Professor in Neurobiology · 2018 - Present Neurobiology, Basic Science Departments
Professor of Cell Biology · 2018 - Present Cell Biology, Basic Science Departments
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2008 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2017 - Present Duke Science & Society, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

In the News


Published February 26, 2025
Treating Parkinson’s & Other Brain Disorders
Published October 18, 2022
Nicole Calakos Elected to U.S. National Academy of Medicine
Published October 26, 2021
Duke-Led Teams Awarded $18 Million to Investigate Parkinson’s Disease

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Recent Publications


Motor network reorganization associated with rTMS-induced writing improvement in writer's cramp dystonia.

Journal Article Brain Stimul · February 7, 2025 BACKGROUND: Writer's cramp (WC) dystonia is an involuntary movement disorder with distributed abnormalities in the brain's motor network. Prior studies established the potential for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to either premotor cor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Emerging Molecular-Genetic Families in Dystonia: Endosome-Autophagosome-Lysosome and Integrated Stress Response Pathways.

Journal Article Mov Disord · January 2025 Advances in genetic technologies and disease modeling have greatly accelerated the pace of introducing and validating molecular-genetic contributors to disease. In dystonia, there is a growing convergence across multiple distinct forms of the disease onto ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Perineuronal Net Protein Brevican Acts in Nucleus Accumbens Parvalbumin-Expressing Interneurons of Adult Mice to Regulate Excitatory Synaptic Inputs and Motivated Behaviors.

Journal Article Biol Psychiatry · November 1, 2024 BACKGROUND: Experience-dependent functional adaptation of nucleus accumbens (NAc) circuitry underlies the development and expression of reward-motivated behaviors. Parvalbumin-expressing GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) interneurons (PVINs) within ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Stanford University · 1996 M.D.
Stanford University · 1995 Ph.D.

External Links


Lab website