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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.

 

Jessica Bernard, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | jessica.bernard@tamu.edu
Cerebellar structure and networks in humans; motor and cognitive behavior; aging; neuroimaging

Shoshana Eitan, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | seitan@tamu.edu
Emotional development; cellular and molecular mechanisms of opiates; adolescent and adult rodent models

Jim Grau, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | j-grau@tamu.edu | Lab Website
Learning, pain modulation, and recovery of function after spinal cord injuries in rodent models

Annmarie Macnamara, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | amacnamara@tamu.edu
Emotions in psychiatric health and disease; cognitive factors; neuroimaging and psychophysiology in humans

Stephen Maren, PhD
Professor and Claude H Everett, Jr ’47 Chair of Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | maren@tamu.edu
Neural systems for emotion, learning, and memory; fear and anxiety; rodent models

Vani Mathur, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | vmathur@tamu.edu
Disparities in pain in humans; social and cultural factors affecting pain experience and pain physiology

Mary Meagher, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | m-meagher@tamu.edu
Psychoneuroimmunology; pain; stress and disease in humans and animal models

Justin Moscarello, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | jmm31@tamu.edu
Memory systems; psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of emotional memory; rodent models

Naomi Nagaya, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | nagaya@tamu.edu
Hormonal regulation of behavior; sex differences; fear and anxiety; neurosteroids; rodent models

Joseph Orr, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | joseph.orr@tamu.edu
Voluntary task selection behavior; prefrontal cortex; neuroimaging; addiction and psychosis in humans

Mark Packard, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | markpackard@tamu.edu
Neurobiology of memory; multiple memory systems; rodent models

Rachel J. Smith, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | rachelsmith@tamu.edu
Neural mechanisms underlying drug addiction and relapse; maladaptive behavior; rodent models

Jyotsna Vaid, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | jvaid@tamu.edu
Language in humans; neuropsychological and cognitive aspects of bilingualism
 
Paul Wellman, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | paul-wellman@tamu.edu
Behavioral pharmacology; feeding; drug addiction; rodent models

Steven Woltering, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | swolte@tamu.edu
Human development and learning; biometrics in social and health sciences; self-regulation

Darrell Worthy, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Department Website | Lab Website | worthyda@tamu.edu
Human learning and decision making across the lifespan; motivation and cognition