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Members of the Behavioral Neuroscience division focus their teaching and research on the neurobiological and evolutionary bases of behavior, primarily using animal models. The faculty and their interests are listed below with links to individual home pages. Essentially all graduate training by faculty members in Behavioral Neuroscience is carried out through one of the interdepartmental graduate programs at UMass, particularly the Neuroscience and Behavior (NSB) Program. Please visit the NSB website for more details. In addition to the Ph.D. program, the Neuroscience and Behavior Program offers a "Fast-Track" (five year B.S./M.S.) program leading to an M.S. degree in Neuroscience and Behavior. If you are seeking information about the undergraduate Psych/Neuroscience track, that is also available online (and here is a requirements checklist for the track).
If you are interested in graduate training in behavioral neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, or animal behavior, please apply to the Neuroscience and Behavior program.
The Neuroscience and Behavior Program is seeking applications for a faculty position in the Psychology Department. Please see the Department's "positions available" page for more information.
FACULTY
Elliott Blass, Elliott Blass's interests lie in the development of motivational systems in human newborns and in the basis of obesity in human adults. His researech programs address both of thease issues in laboratory and hospital settings.
(E-mail)
Jeffrey D. Blaustein, Steroid hormone receptors are intracellular proteins that bind steroid hormones and result in modulation of brain physiology and behaviors. Although originally believed that steroid hormone receptors are activated only by steroid hormones, more recent work demonstrates that a variety of neurotransmitter and second messenger pathways can activate steroid hormone receptors. We study the processes by which the environment and neurotransmitters regulate and activate hormone receptors, resulting in changes in brain physiology and behavior. (E-mail)
Geert De Vries, Geert de Vries studies the development and function of sex differences in the brain. His research shows that sex differences in the brain may not only cause sex differences in behavior and function, they may also prevent them (E-mail)
Nancy Forger, Work in the Forger lab focuses on the development of sex differences in the mammalian nervous system. Most sex differences are caused by the steroid hormone, testosterone. We are studying how testosterone controls cell death in the developing brain, thereby causing regional sex differences in neuron number. Other lab projects study sexual differentiation using unusual animal models, such as spotted hyenas and naked mole-rats.
(E-mail)
UnJa L. Hayes, The types of responses children elicit from adults range from bliss to dysphoria to harm. Incidences in which children are harmed by their parents or guardians usually are attributed to issues related to socioeconomic status and degree of relatedness. However, biological factors have not received much attention. The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) is uniquely suited for the study of parental behavior. Along with forming monogamous bonds, both parents are involved in the care of the young. However, sex and reproductive status of a prairie vole can predict whether pups trigger aggression or nurturing behaviors in the adults. Currently, my research interest focuses on determining what experiences (e.g., mating, pregnancy, parturition, and social) and neurobiological changes are necessary for infanticidal animals to suppress aggressive behaviors and show parental behaviors. This research is conducted for potential clinical application for the prevention of child abuse and neglect and postpartum depression.
(E-mail)
Elizabeth Jakob, Research interests: I am a behavioral ecologist. My main study organisms are spiders. Questions that my students and I work on include the role of learning in spider behavior, the evolution of group living, and the role of behavior in the establishment of invasive species.
(E-mail)
Agnes Lacreuse, Gonadal hormones have profound effects on the brain and behavior but have mostly been studied in the context of reproduction. My research examines how gonadal hormones affect cognitive function, motor function, and emotion in monkeys and humans. The primary focus of my current studies is to characterize sex differences in cognition, and to elucidate the role of gonadal hormones in shaping patterns of cognitive and brain aging in males and females. (E-mail)
Veronica Lopez, Steroid hormones strongly influence the development of numerous brain regions. These include areas not classically considered steroid-sensitive, such as the cerebral cortex. Specifically, my research has focused on the role of cortical progesterone and progestin receptors in the first couple of weeks after birth in the rodent. This is an unparalleled and dynamic time in isocortex development, when neurons are migrating, differentiating, and forming lasting or transient connections.
(E-mail)
Heather Richardson, The focus of my laboratory is to determine the neurobiological mechanisms underlying stress-related disorders using rodent models. Men and women show different vulnerability to stress-related disorders such as drug abuse and anxiety in adulthood. This may be driven by sex differences in brain structure, chemistry, and circulating hormones in adulthood. Adolescence is a period of neural plasticity during which experiences or substances that modulate endocrine systems (e.g., stress, drug abuse, and environmental toxins), may interfere with normal neural remodeling and alter sexually dichotomous behaviors. Our research aims to understand not only the neural and hormonal determinants of alcohol dependence in adulthood but how susceptibility to stress-related disorders may be shaped during adolescent development.
(E-mail)
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