Neuroscience
A large proportion of the faculty are concerned with the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie behavioral and psychological processes. Within the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, approaches span from molecular/cellular to neural systems, cognition, imaging, and clinical application. Across areas, researchers are exploring factors that influence affect (e.g., pain, fear), compulsive behavior, the effect of stress, neural injury and trauma, learning, memory, language, decision making and motor behavior.
Many neuroscience faculty are members of the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience (TAMIN), which provides additional opportunities for graduate training. Weekly colloquia provide an opportunity to hear internationally recognized leaders within the field.
Neuroscience research within the department is funded by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Mental Health (NIMH), Drug Abuse (NIDA), and a variety of private foundations.
Affiliated Faculty
Neuroscience. Cerebellar structure and networks in humans; motor and cognitive behavior; aging; neuroimaging.
Neuroscience. Emotional development; cellular and molecular mechanisms of opiates; adolescent and adult rodent models.
Neuroscience. Learning, pain modulation, and recovery of function after spinal cord injuries in rodent models.
Neuroscience. Emotions in psychiatric health and disease; cognitive factors; neuroimaging and psychophysiology in humans.
Affective Science. Affect and cognition; psychophysical measures of emotional response to health and disease.
Neuroscience. Neural systems for emotion, learning, and memory; fear and anxiety; rodent models.
Affective Science. Extinguishing fear memories; developing neurotherapeutic interventions for fear.
Neuroscience, Diversity Science, & Affective Science. Disparities in pain in humans; social and cultural factors affecting pain experience and pain physiology; empathy for physical, social, and emotional pain and suffering.
Neuroscience. Psychoneuroimmunology; pain; stress and disease in humans and animal models.
Affective Science. Interactions of pain, emotion, and stress; effects on motivation and decision making; affect regulation in clinical pain.
Neuroscience. Memory systems; psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of emotional memory; rodent models.
Affective Science. Control and fear; aversive memory.
Neuroscience & Affective Science. Hormonal regulation of behavior; sex differences; fear and anxiety; neurosteroids; rodent models.
Neuroscience & Affective Science. Voluntary task selection behavior; prefrontal cortex; neuroimaging; addiction and psychosis in humans.
Neuroscience & Affective Science. Neurobiology of memory; multiple memory systems; acquisition and expression of learned behavior; rodent models.
Neuroscience & Affective Science. Neural mechanisms underlying drug addiction and relapse; maladaptive behavior; rodent models.
Neuroscience. Language in humans; neuropsychological and cognitive aspects of bilingualism.
Diversity Science. Multiple language experience and cognition; social construction of merit in academia.
Neuroscience. Behavioral pharmacology; feeding; drug addiction; rodent models.
Neuroscience. Human development and learning; biometrics in social and health sciences; self-regulation.
Neuroscience & Personality Processes. Human learning and decision making across the lifespan; motivation and cognition.