Melissa Perreault

BSc (McMaster), PhD (McMaster)

perreaum@uoguelph.ca
Office: Biom 3645 OVC
519-824-4120 Ext. 52013

Lab: Biom 3653 OVC
519-824-4120 Ext. 54969

Research Interests

• Using animal model systems, in vitro and in vivo systems electrophysiology, pharmacology, pharmacogenetics, neurochemistry, behaviour to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the pathology of neuropsychiatric disorders
• Sex differences in neuropsychiatric disorder risk and symptom manifestation (schizophrenia, depression, autism spectrum disorders)
• Sex-specific brain wave patterns as biomarkers for neuropsychiatric disorder pathology and therapeutic efficacy
• Holistic research to understand the neurobiological actions of whole plants and fungi (kratom, cannabis, psilocybin) and the role of the environment (e.g. infection) on brain health
• Indigenous neuroethics

Current Graduate Students

• Agostino Bordignon - MSc
• Sara Enouri - MBS
• Caitlin Nolan - PhD
• Vanessa Read - MBS
• Isaac Russell - MSc
• Stefan Salo - PhD
• Evan Spangenberg - PhD
• Olivia Williams - PhD
• Kali Zister - MBS

Professional Experience & Honours

University of Guelph Research Leadership Chair
Member of the Royal Society of Canada, College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.

Selected Publications

• Spangenberg E, Moneypenny A, Bozzo G, Perreault ML. 2025. Unveiling the role of erinacines in the neuroprotective effects of Hericium erinaceus: a systematic review. Frontiers in Pharmacology, in press.

• Williams OOF, Coppolino M, McCallum RT, Henry-Duru P, Manduca JD, Micelli C, Lalonde J, Perreault ML. 2024. Prenatal exposure to valproic acid induces sex-specific alterations in cortical and hippocampal neuronal structure and function in rats. Prog Neuropsychopharm Biol Psychiatry, 136: 111222.

• Albeely AM, Williams OOF, Blight CR, Thériault RK, Perreault ML. 2024. Sex differences in neuronal oscillatory activity and memory in the methylazoxymethanol acetate model of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 267, 451-461.

• McCallum R, Manduca JD, Thériault RK, Russell I, Culmer A, Shoja Doost J, Martino TA, Perreault ML. 2024. Nrf2 activation rescues stress-induced depression-like behaviour and inflammatory gene expression changes in male but not female rats. Biology of Sex Differences, 15:16.

• Perreault ML. 2024. Consideration of research approaches in systems neurobiology. Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, 4:107-10. Invited

• Pepe M, Hesami M, de la Cerda KA, Perreault ML, Hsiang T, Bozzo G, Jones AMP. 2023. A journey with magic mushrooms: From historical relevance to biology, cultivation, medicinal uses, biotechnology, and beyond. Biotechnology Advances, 69: 108247.

• Quansah Amissah R, Albeely AM, Bragg E, Perreault ML, Doucette WT, Khokhar JY. 2023. A simple lightweight and low-cost multielectrode array for local field potential recordings. ENeuro, 10: ENEURO.0212-23.

• Hewitt T, Alural B, Tilak M, Wang J, Perreault M, Sheridan SD, Perlis RH, Jones N, Mellios N, Haggarty S, Lalonde J. 2023. Bipolar disorder-iPSC derived neural progenitor cells exhibit dysregulation of store-operated Ca2+ entry and accelerated differentiation. Molecular Psychiatry, 28: 5237–5250.

• Albeely AM, Nolan C, Bailey CDC, Perreault ML. 2023. A role for cortical dopamine D5 receptors in the regulation of neuronal circuit function and memory. CNS Neurosci and Therapeutics, 29:2469-2480

• Parmentier T, James F, Hewittson E, Bailey C, Werry N, Sheridan SD, Perlis RH, Perreault ML, Lalonde J, LaMarre J. 2022. Human cerebral spheroids undergo activity dependent changes in cellular composition and microrna expression. Scientific reports, 12:9143.

• Albeely AM, Williams OOF, Perreault ML. 2022. GSK-3β disrupts neural oscillatory function to inhibit learning and memory in rats. Cell Mol Neurobiology, 42:1341-1353.

• Jenkins BW, Buckhalter S, Perreault ML, Khokhar JY. 2022. Cannabis vapour exposure alters neural circuit oscillatory activity in a neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia:  Exploring the differential impact of cannabis constituents. Schizophrenia Bull Open, 3:sgab052.

• Williams OOF, Coppolino M, Perreault ML. 2021. Sex differences in neuronal systems function and behaviour: Beyond a single diagnosis in autism spectrum disorders. Translational Psychiatry, 11:625.

• Williams OOF, Coppolino M, George SR, Perreault ML. 2021. Sex differences in dopamine receptors and relevance to neuropsychiatric disorders. Brain Sciences, 11:1199. Invited, 2024 Editor’s Choice Article

• McCallum R, Perreault ML. 2021. Glycogen synthase kinase-3: A focal point for advancing pathogenic inflammation in depression. Cells, 10:2270.

• Buckhalter S, Soubeyrand E, Jenkins BW, SAE Ferrone, Rasmussen D, Manduca JD, Khokhar JY, Akhtar TA, Perreault ML. 2021. The antidepressant-like and analgesic effects of kratom alkaloids are accompanied by changes in low frequency oscillations but not ΔFosB accumulation. Front Pharmacol, 12:696461.

Selected Publications in Neuroethics

• Perreault ML, Taylor-Bragge R, McLachlan A, Gregory TR, Khalid R, Bassil K, Svalastog AL, Velarde M, Illes J. 2025. Indigenous Representation in Neuroscience Scholarship, Teaching, and Care. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, in press.

• Perreault ML, Taylor-Bragge R, McLachlan A, Gregory TR, Khalid R, Bassil K, Svalastog A-L, Velarde M, Illes J. 2025. Authenticity in Capacity-building for Neuroscience: Indigenous Scholarship, Teaching, and Care. In: Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics. Illes J, Perreault ML (eds), Academic Press.

• Gregory TR, Taylor-Bragge RL, McLachlan A, Yellow Bird M, Perreault ML. 2025. Indigenous epistemologies, Two-Eyed Seeing, and the philosophy, practice, and applications of brain sciences. In: Developments in Neuroethics and Bioethics. Illes J, Perreault ML (eds), Academic Press.

• Perreault ML and Goodridge LD. 2025. Wastewater surveillance and genomic data protection in Indigenous communities. Genomic Psychiatry, in press.

• Illes J, Perreault ML, Bassill K, Bragge RT, Chneiweiss H, Gregory TR, Matshabane O, Rivas M, Svalastog AL. 2025. Two-Eyed Seeing and other Indigenous perspectives for neuroscience. Nature, 638: 58-68.

• Nolan C, Roepke TA, Perreault ML. 2023. Beyond the binary: Gender inclusivity in schizophrenia research. Biological Psychiatry, 94: 543-549.