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Professional Activities: Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Society for Neuroscience, and the Center for Developmental Psychobiology Research Interests: Animal models of memory disorders, neurobiology of memory and reward Research Description: One of the main goals of psychology is to understand how organisms learn and remember information. The study of how memories are organized in the brain has advanced immensely in the last three decades. The use of animal models has enhanced the understanding of the biological processes involved in cognition, memory and emotion. There exists a wide range of methodologies to access etiologic and symptomatic factors of memory disturbances. Using drugs, diet, neurotoxins, and aged rodents, I attempt to model human amnesia (i.e., Wernicke-Korsakoff's disease, Alcohol-Induced Dementia, Alzheimer's disease). My research is a combination of both micro- and macro-level analyses. Behavior of the whole organism is assessed before and after brain damage, and the extent of brain pathology is correlated with behavioral impairment. I am particularly interested in the interactions between specific types of learning and memory problems and specific neurochemical and neuroanatomical abnormalities. In a broad sense, this type of research contributes to the understanding of brain-behavior relationships. The goal of my research is to gain a better understanding of the neurobiology of memory and the development of psychological and pharmacological therapeutics for the treatment of memory disorders. Philosophy of Graduate Training: Students should be excited about, as well as devoted to, the topic they chose as their graduate study. This interest must span both course work and research. At Binghamton University our programs offer a unique balance between classroom and laboratory experiences. As a faculty member, I view my role in graduate education as a "colleague" to students. My aim is to advise students in theory as well as the design of sound research projects that will answer interesting questions about brain-behavioral relationships. Selected Publications: (* indicates student co-author)
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