About

I received my B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Rider University. I earned my Ph.D. in Biology at Johns Hopkins University in the laboratory of Samer Hattar and conducted my postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the laboratory of Scott Thompson.

Research Interests

I am interested in how brain regions communicate with one another to regulate behavior and how changes in that communication can result in psychiatric disease.

Teaching Interests

My teaching interests include neuroscience ranging from the function of synapses to the regulation of behavior. I am also interested in helping trainees build skills that will be critical for their success as future scientists including communication, experimental design, and hypothesis testing.

Intellectual Contributions

LeGates, Tara Kvarta, M D. Thompson, S M. (2019) Sex differences in antidepressant efficacy. 1 vol. 44 140-154 Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

LeGates, Tara Kvarta, M D. Tooley, J R. Francis, T C. Lobo, M K. Creed, M C. Thompson, S M. (2018) Reward behaviour is regulated by the strength of hippocampus-nucleus accumbens synapses. 7735 vol. 564 258-262 Nature

Divakaruni, S S. Van Dyke, A M. Chandra, R LeGates, Tara Contreras, M Dharmasri, P A. Higgs, H N. Lobo, M K. Thompson, S M. Blanpied, T A. (2018) Long-Term Potentiation Requires a Rapid Burst of Dendritic Mitochondrial Fission during Induction. 4 vol. 100 860-875.e7 Neuron

Chen, C M. Orefice, L L. Chiu, S L. LeGates, Tara Hattar, S Huganir, R L. Zhao, H Xu, B Kuruvilla, R (2017) Wnt5a is essential for hippocampal dendritic maintenance and spatial learning and memory in adult mice. 4 vol. 114 E619-E628 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Bedont, J L. LeGates, Tara Buhr, E Bathini, A Ling, J P. Bell, B Wu, M N. Wong, P C. Van Gelder, R N. Mongrain, V Hattar, S Blackshaw, S (2017) An LHX1-Regulated Transcriptional Network Controls Sleep/Wake Coupling and Thermal Resistance of the Central Circadian Clockworks. 1 vol. 27 128-136 Current biology : CB

Le, N T. Chang, L Kovlyagina, I Georgiou, P Safren, N Braunstein, K E. Kvarta, M D. Van Dyke, A M. LeGates, Tara Philips, T Morrison, B M. Thompson, S M. Puche, A C. Gould, T D. Rothstein, J D. Wong, P C. Monteiro, M J. (2016) Motor neuron disease, TDP-43 pathology, and memory deficits in mice expressing ALS-FTD-linked UBQLN2 mutations. 47 vol. 113 E7580-E7589 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Jaaro-Peled, H Altimus, C LeGates, Tara Cash-Padgett, T Zoubovsky, S Hikida, T Ishizuka, K Hattar, S Mongrain, V Sawa, A (2016) Abnormal wake/sleep pattern in a novel gain-of-function model of DISC1. vol. 112 63-69 Neuroscience research

Fischell, J Van Dyke, A M. Kvarta, M D. LeGates, Tara Thompson, S M. (2015) Rapid Antidepressant Action and Restoration of Excitatory Synaptic Strength After Chronic Stress by Negative Modulators of Alpha5-Containing GABAA Receptors. 11 vol. 40 2499-509 Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Thompson, S M. Kallarackal, A J. Kvarta, M D. Van Dyke, A M. LeGates, Tara Cai, X (2015) An excitatory synapse hypothesis of depression. 5 vol. 38 279-94 Trends in neurosciences

LeGates, Tara Fernandez, D C. Hattar, S (2014) Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect. 7 vol. 15 443-54 Nature reviews. Neuroscience

Bedont, J L. LeGates, Tara Slat, E A. Byerly, M S. Wang, H Hu, J Rupp, A C. Qian, J Wong, G W. Herzog, E D. Hattar, S Blackshaw, S (2014) Lhx1 controls terminal differentiation and circadian function of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. 3 vol. 7 609-22 Cell reports

LeGates, Tara Altimus, C M. Wang, H Lee, H K. Yang, S Zhao, H Kirkwood, A Weber, E T. Hattar, S (2012) Aberrant light directly impairs mood and learning through melanopsin-expressing neurons. 7425 vol. 491 594-8 Nature

LeGates, Tara Altimus, C M. (2011) Measuring circadian and acute light responses in mice using wheel running activity. 48 Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE

Ecker, J L. Dumitrescu, O N. Wong, K Y. Alam, N M. Chen, S K. LeGates, Tara Renna, J M. Prusky, G T. Berson, D M. Hattar, S (2010) Melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion-cell photoreceptors: cellular diversity and role in pattern vision. 1 vol. 67 49-60 Neuron

LeGates, Tara Dunn, D Weber, E T. (2009) Accelerated re-entrainment to advanced light cycles in BALB/cJ mice. 4 vol. 98 427-32 Physiology & behavior

Altimus, Cara M. LeGates, Tara A. Hattar, Samer (2009) Circadian and light effects on mood regulation Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice 47-66 New York, NY Humana Press

Altimus, C M. Güler, A D. Villa, K L. McNeill, D S. LeGates, Tara Hattar, S (2008) Rods-cones and melanopsin detect light and dark to modulate sleep independent of image formation. 50 vol. 105 19998-20003 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America