Behavioral Neuroscience Program Faculty

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Research Faculty

Daniel S. Barth

Research Interests: Dr. Barth's primary research interests are in the electrophysiology and neurophysiology of sensory systems, as well as the neural mechanisms controlling brain excitability, particularly as it applies to the treatment of human epilepsy. He is currently working on three research projects. The first examines the cellular basis and functional significance of fast electrical oscillations in the sensory cortex. The second is concerned with areas of cerebral cortex uniquely dedicated to combining information from different sensory modalities. Finally, Dr. Barth is conducting a collaborative study with doctors at the Denver Health Sciences Center to use high-speed computers for the detection and treatment of epileptic seizures in humans.

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Serge Campeau

Research Interests: The primary research interests of the Campeau laboratory revolve around the neurobiological mechanisms responsible for the perception and responsiveness to stressful situations, particularly in the domain of psychological situations. Specific questions currently under investigation include the neuroanatomical locus of control of a variety of endocrine, autonomic, and behavioral reactions that are often triggered by a variety of unconditioned (predators, loud noise) and conditioned (soft noise, lights) stimuli at several levels of analyses (molecular, neuroanatomical, behavioral, autonomic, endocrine). An additional focus of investigation is the neural basis of adaptation to repeated stress, in the form of habituation and sensitization.

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David A. Chiszar

Research Interests: Dr. Chiszar works on the predatory behavior of lower vertebrates, mostly amphibians and reptiles. His research focuses on the chemical cues used by these animals in recognizing, attacking and trailing their prey. In some cases, the predatory attack adds chemical cues to the prey that the predator can subsequently detect, making an escaped prey readily noticeable by the searching predator. Efforts are underway to identify the various chemicals involved in each of these stages of predation.

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Lewis O. Harvey, Jr.

Research Interests: Professor Harvey's areas of research include vision and visual perception, psychophysics and human factors. He has made precise measurements of the properties of human perceptive fields using psychophysical methods and compared these fields with the receptive fields of visual cells in the monkey. He is also investigating the effects of dynamic organization of perception caused by the interaction among spatial elements of the visual stimulus. He has developed rapid and efficient methods for measuring sensory sensitivity in vision and has applied these methods to chemosensory sensitivity testing.

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Theresa D. Hernández

Research Interests: Our clinically-based program of research is aimed at providing an experimental basis for improving clinical treatment following brain insult so that neurobehavioral function is optimized. We are currently accomplishing this via two tracks: one aimed at the initial post-injury period and a second focusing on the stable post-insult period.

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Steven F. Maier

Research Interests: My research falls into 3 broad areas. 1) Mechanisms by which the immune system modulates neural activity and the implications of this interaction for understanding mood, cognition, and pain. Much of this work centers on the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain. 2) Psychological variables that modulate the behavioral and neurochemical impact of exposure to stressors, with an emphasis on understanding the neural mechanisms that allow these variables to act. Recent work focuses on the role of the prefrontal cortex in regulating brainstem and limbic structures. 3) Drug addiction, with a focus on understanding the mechanisms by which stressors and other factors modulate the rewarding effects of drugs. Recent work focuses on interactions between serotonergic and dopaminergic systems in regulating reward. These areas are all multidisciplinary, and the laboratory uses techniques ranging from molecular to neurochemical to behavioral in approaching the issues above.

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Randall C. O'Reilly

Research Interests: I develop computational and formal models of the biological bases of cognition (computational cognitive neuroscience), focusing on specialization of function in and interactions between hippocampus, prefrontal cortex/basal ganglia, and posterior neocortex in learning, memory, attention, and controlled processing. I test predictions from these models using a range of behavioral and other experimental techniques.

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Susan L. Patterson

Research Interests: Prior activity or experience drives changes in the functional strength and structure of connections in the brain. This experience-dependent synaptic plasticity determines the way our brains develop, how we learn and remember things, and how we perceive our environment and ourselves. I am interested in the role of growth factors (particularly members of the nerve growth factor family of proteins) in synaptic plasticity during normal learning and memory. I am also interested the possibility that disregulation of growth factor signaling systems may contribute to some neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.

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Jerry W. Rudy

Research Interests: Professor Rudy's research interests center on learning and memory processes. He has studied these basic processes, from several perspectives, including, basic experimental work with rodents, learning in invertebrates, and the development of learning and memory processes in rodents and children. His current work focuses primarily on understanding the complementary contributions the hippocampus and neocortex make to learning and memory and the influence immune products have on memory.

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Timothy Smock

Research Interests: During this year's sabbatical I will be examining the possibility that a novel virus found in the brains of violent baboons may also exist in the brains of violent people. Also, I will be investigating the neuro-scientific issues surrounding the general subject of viral infections of the brain.

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Robert L. Spencer

Research Interests: 1) Understanding the neurobiological basis of psychological stress and stress adaptation. 2) Determining the systems-level, cellular and molecular aspects of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. 3) Characterization of experience-dependent gene expression patterns in hippocampus in association with hippocampal dependent learning, stress and novelty.

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Linda R. Watkins

Research Interests: Pain modulation systems; immune and glial regulation of neuronal function; immune-to-brain communication; glial regulation of pain, opioid analgesia, learning/memory, and neuronal excitability; stress-induced regulation of brain and behavior; novel approaches to controlling chronic pain.

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Behavioral Neuroscience Research Faculty

Heidi Day

Research Interests: Currently, my research is focused on how stress affects areas of the brain associated with emotional processing, specifically within the central extended amygdala. I am also interested in understanding how voluntary exercise can reduce physiological responses to stress.

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Erin Milligan

Research Interests: Recent progress toward understanding pain regulation in the spinal cord has expanded to include glial cell activation and subsequent pro-inflammatory cytokine release and activity. Our group's current research interests include understanding how spinal cord anti-inflammatory cytokines may be therapeutic for ongoing neuropathic pain. Strategies for spinal cord anti-inflammatory cytokine gene delivery of various DNA vectors include free DNA and/or polymer-based gene delivery approaches to treat chronic pain. Techniques from the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering are incorporated for developing these clinically relevant therapeutic agents for the treatment of pain.

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