Dr. Sergio D. Iñiguez

Professor Iñiguez's research program evaluates the developmental neurobiology of stress-induced illnesses, such as anxiety and depression, using simple non-human murine models. To do this, his preclinical laboratory adopts a multidisciplinary approach (behavioral, molecular, and pharmacological) to examine how exposure to social stress and/or psychotropic agents (i.e., fluoxetine, ketamine) influence responses to drugs of abuse, as well as memory-related performance, in a developmental and sex-specific manner.

UTEP Faculty Profile

Representative Publications:

1. Themann A, Rodriguez M, Calvo DE, Vargas P, Iñiguez SD. (2025). Prozac exposure during adolescence increases pain sensitivity in adulthood. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 186:200-204. PMID:40250326.
2. Rodriguez M, Themann A, Calvo DE, Lira O, Garcia JA, Iñiguez SD. (2024). Chronic social defeat stress induces anxiety-like behavior in adult male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Oxford Open Neuroscience, 242:173819. PMID: 38986686.
3. Flores-Ramirez FJ, Themann A, Sierra-Fonseca JA, Garcia-Carachure I, Castillo SA, Rodriguez M, Lira O, Preciado-Piña J, Warren BL, Robison AJ, Iñiguez SD. (2021). Adolescent fluoxetine treatment mediates a persistent anxiety-like outcome in female C57BL/6 mice that is ameliorated by fluoxetine re-exposure in adulthood. Scientific Reports, 11(1):7758. PMID:33833356.
4. Garcia-Carachure I, Flores-Ramirez FJ, Castillo SA, Themann A, Arenivar MA, Preciado-Piña J, Zavala AR, Lobo MK, Iñiguez SD. (2020). Enduring effects of adolescent ketamine exposure on cocaine- and sucrose-induced reward in male and female C57BL/6 mice. Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(9):1536-1544. PMID:32165718.
5. Iñiguez SD, Flores-Ramirez FJ, Riggs LM, Alipio JB, Garcia-Carachure I, Hernandez MA, Sanchez DO, Lobo MK, Serrano PA, Braren SH, Castillo SA. (2018). Vicarious social defeat stress induces depression-related outcomes in female c57bl/6 mice. Biological Psychiatry, 83(1), 9- 17. PMID:28888327.
6. Iñiguez SD, Alcantara LF, Warren BL, Riggs LM, Parise EM, Vialou V, Wright KN, Dayrit G, Nieto SJ, Wilkinson MB, Lobo MK, Neve RL, Nestler EJ, Bolaños-Guzmán CA. (2014). Fluoxetine exposure during adolescence alters responses to aversive stimuli in adulthood. Journal of Neuroscience, 34(3), 1007-1021. PMID:24431458.