Biology, Behavior, and Neuroscience
The Biology and Behavior Program focuses on biological and behavioral processes, viewing them as integrative systems requiring knowledge at multiple levels of analysis. An important point of convergence for the program is understanding the origins and nature of behavioral and neural plasticity. Students may choose to approach the study of biology and behavior at different levels of integration, for example, cellular and neural activity, sensation and learning, or social and evolutionary processes. The breadth of the program and the range of applicable techniques is reflected in the wide scope of training opportunities, which are described within the following links:
List of Sub-Areas
Program
in Neuroscience
Program
in Animal Behavior
Biology, Behavior, and Neuroscience Sub-Areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychobiology
- Learning, Motivation and Cognitive Processes
- Psychopharmacology
- Sensory Processes
Behavioral Neuroscience
This area provides training in the analyses of relationships between brain and behavior. Students interested in the neural mechanisms underlying behavior can receive training in electrophysiological, molecular, neuroanatomical, and neurochemical skills. Ongoing research in behavioral neuroscience includes computational modeling of neural networks, cognitive and motivational processes in substance abuse and dependence, developmental neurobiology, development of learning and memory, drug effects on learning and memory, functional and structural neuroimaging, human sexuality, mechanisms of action of drugs of abuse, molecular and cellular basis of neuronal plasticity, neurochemical correlates of behavior, neurochemistry of pain, neurodegenerative diseases, neural and developmental bases of behavior, neuroendocrinology, neural mechanisms of learning, neuropharmacology, neuropsychology, neurotransmitter function, psycholinguistics and speech perception, receptor signaling, somatosensory and sensorimotor function, schizophrenia and related disorders, and behavioral neuroendocrinology.
Developmental Psychobiology
With developmental approaches, links can be made between changes in brain structure and changes in behavior to reveal the interdependencies of brain and body that lead to adaptive solutions to challenges and changes. Development itself can be the topic of analysis, involving genetic, environmental, and experiential information. The nature of this ensemble and the effects of alterations in it give us clues on how brains, bodies and behaviors grow, develop and evolve. Current research programs include neural and behavioral embryology, ontogeny of species-specific behaviors, behavioral systems, organism-environment dynamics, and neurobiological correlates of growth and change. Students receive training in different modes of behavioral and neurobiological analysis, ranging from studies of ontogenetic or phylogenetic origins to investigations of sensory, hormonal and neural mechanisms.
Learning, Motivation, and Cognitive Processes
This specialty unites the traditional paradigms of learning and motivation, including pavlovian and operant conditioning, with the modern study of association, memory, cognition, and regulation. Students have the opportunity to gain a common core of knowledge and fundamental training in analytic and research skills appropriate to a wide range of subject matter and a variety of vertebrate organisms, including humans. Apparatus includes standard and specialized learning equipment, 24 hour environments, and MRI facilities. Research topics include: Neural mechanisms of learning and cognition, interval and circadian timing, the neural analysis of reinforcement and its applications, regulatory analyses of motivated behavior, attention, behavioral inhibition and contrast, and clinical neuroscience.
Psychopharmacology
This research specialization focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying drug-induced modifications of behavior. Attention centers on how drugs interact with neurotransmitter systems to influence cognition, motivation, movement, and other behavioral processes. Training is available for using electrophysiological techniques (single- and multi-unit recording an iontophoresis), microdialysis, and voltammetry in various behavioral paradigms to assess the systems and processes by which drugs influence behaviorally relevant neuronal operations.
Sensory Processes
The study of sensory processes requires an understanding of behavior, anatomy, and neurophysiology. Training is provided in vision, hearing, and touch and includes basic psychophysical data, models of sensory processes, and the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of sensory systems. Students receive a broad knowledge of sensory psychology as well as develop strong research interests in one of more sensory systems.
