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Washington State University
College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology

Rebecca M. Craft

Professor Emerita

Retired: no longer mentoring students

Ph.D. University of North Carolina, 1991

Contact Information

Email: craft@wsu.edu
Website: Psychopharmacology Lab

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 265: Biopsychological Effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs
  • Psychology 372: Biological Basis of Behavior
  • Psychology 577: Behavioral Pharmacology

Research Interests

  • Psychopharmacology
  • Drug Abuse and Dependence
  • Sex Differences in Drug Effects
  • Hormonal Modulation of Pain, Analgesia and Mood

My research is currently focused on sex differences in the effects of psychoactive drugs – primarily opioids (e.g., morphine, codeine) and cannabinoids (e.g., THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana). Opioids are widely used therapeutically and cannabinoids have broad therapeutic potential; additionally, both classes of drugs are abused by millions of people in the U.S., including many women. However, as with most commonly used medications, the myriad effects of opioids and cannabinoids have been well-characterized only in males. Yet recent data from a number of laboratories indicate that opioids and cannabinoids may not affect males and females exactly the same way, producing differential analgesic, reinforcing (rewarding), subjective and other effects in each sex. Sex differences in drug effects are often attributable to the different gonadal hormone milieu in males vs. females, during development or adulthood. Thus, our primary research goal is to determine how endocrinological and neurobiological differences between males and females may explain their differential sensitivity to psychoactive drugs. Ultimately this research will inform us about whether we need to adjust the way we use drugs medicinally in men vs. women, and whether there is any biological explanation for differential drug abuse in men vs. women.

Selected Publications

Cooper ZD, Craft RM (2018).  Sex-dependent effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: A translational perspective. Neuropsychopharmacology 43, 34-51.

Britch SC, Goodman AG, Wiley JL, Pondelick AM, Craft RM (2020).  Antinociceptive and immune effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabidiol in male versus female rats with persistent inflammatory pain. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 373, 416-428.

Craft RM, Hewitt KA, Britch SC (2021).  Antinociception produced by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in female vs male rats. Behavioural Pharmacology 32, 153-169.

Image of Dr. Rebecca Craft