Contact Us

Contact:
Bernadette Storey-Laubach
Coordinator

Center for Neuroscience & Behavior 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016 United States

Neuroscience and Behavior at AU

AU's Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, established in 2012, provides a unique interdisciplinary research and training environment that promotes excellence in the study of brain function and its manifestation in behavior.

The Center strives to support neuroscience research efforts and promote collaborative interactions among neuroscientists as well as scientists from other disciplines. The Center also provides core research facilities for neuroscience research faculty and scientists from other disciplines.

Related Degrees

Our Vision

We envision the Center for Neuroscience and Behavior as an externally-funded and self-sustaining center that integrates psychology, biology, neuroanatomy, and physiology with chemistry, physics and mathematics to advance understanding of the cognitive, emotional, sensory, and regulatory functions that underlie the behavior of both humans and animals. The Center will bring together experts from these and other disciplines in a setting where students, faculty, and other research professionals work collaboratively to generate new ideas, methods, and concepts.

Research and Training

The Center for Neuroscience and Behavior supports the training goals of faculty and students in a number of undergraduate and graduate programs. These programs include Behavior, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCaN), Biology, Chemistry, and Clinical Psychology. Faculty and graduate student members of the center from each of these disciplines participate in a wide range of projects aimed at understanding the interrelationships between the brain and behavior. In addition, while not a degree-granting entity, the Center for Neuroscience and Behavior sponsors activities such as special courses, symposia, and off-campus training opportunities that enhance the educational experience for students at American University.

Director

Terry L. Davidson
Neuroscience

Advisory Committee

Samantha White
Graduate Student,
Behavior, Cognition, & Neuroscience
Victoria Connaughton
Biology
Stefano Costanzi
Chemistry
Kathleen Gunthert
Clinical Psychology
Katie Holton
Health Studies
Arthur Shapiro
Psychology
Catherine Stoodley
Neuroscience

Bulletins

Samantha White (AU '18, current BCaN PhD student) has won a grant from the Cosmos Club, a prestigious award by this longstanding DC science group. The funds will support her dissertation research on learning and decision making. Additionally, Samantha also received a Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience. This a program focused on mentoring, professional skills development, networking for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers that is organized by the Society. Congratulations, Sam!

Catherine Stoodley received a grant from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (funded by the Department of Defense) for her project "Biologic mechanisms and efficacy of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation in ASD.”

Brendan Tunstall(PhD, BCaN) was awarded an National Institutes of Health K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award for his post-doctoral research.

Terry Davidson has been appointed as a Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience by American University’s Board of Trustees.

Catherine Stoodley received a three-year grant from the Children’s Research Institute (funded by the National Institutes of Health) for work with Principal Investigator Catherine Limperopoulos on a project titled "The Vulnerable Preterm Cerebellum: Elucidating Mechanisms and Consequences of Injury."

News

The audience from the American University Symposium: Sex Differences: From Neuroscience to the Clinic and Beyond.

The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience: Making an Impact in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Research

Gene Discovery Boosts Understanding of Zebra Finch Biology

Dr. Kathleen Holton with research subjects

Health Studies Professor's Research Sheds Light on Link Between Chronic Pain and MSG