2013 Department News
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M. E. Panero听received Honorable Mention for her first authored poster displayed at the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) annual conference. The research presented looked at dissociation and cortisol response during the Stressful Event Speech (SES). Posted 11/14/13.
Kelly Dumais,听Remco Bredewold,听Thomas Mayer听(B.S. '12), and听Alexa Veenema听have published an听听in the journal听Hormones and Behavior听on sex differences in the brain oxytocin system. Contrary to the prevailing view that oxytocin is more important for females than for males, they found that female rats (regardless of estrus phase) actually have much less oxytocin receptors than male rats in the majority of forebrain regions. They further showed that oxytocin receptor densities in amygdala subregions correlate with sex differences in social interest. These findings will help improve our understanding of sex-specific regulation of social behavior and possibly of sex-biases in social disorders. Posted 10/15/13.
Gorica Petrovich听has been selected for Fellow status in the Association for Psychological Sciences (APS). Fellow status is awarded to APS Members who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology. Gorica joins APS fellows in our department Elizabeth Kensinger, James Russell, and Ellen Winner, and former faculty member Michael Numan. Posted 10/9/13.
Lily Tsoi听receives a Graduate Student Travel Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), which comes with a $500 travel stipend. Out of 607 applications, 13% were selected for awards. Posted 10/4/13.
Kelly Dumais, doctoral candidate in Alexa Veenema鈥檚 lab, received a highly competitive Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA). Kelly's research focuses on the neurobiological basis of sex-specific regulation of social behavior. This 2-year award allows her to employ a unique combination of techniques (including in vivo microdialysis and fMRI) to examine the role of oxytocin and its underlying neural circuits in mediating social interest in a rat model. Posted 9/19/13.
Alexa Veenema听received the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program award, which includes a substantial grant to support research over a five-year period and is given to promising young faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of both education and research. Alexa's research aims to advance our understanding of the sex-specific neurobiological regulation of social behaviors in the juvenile period. Posted 9/17/13.
Liane Young's听补苍诲听James Dungan's听听is featured听. Posted 8/2/13.
Graduate student听Kelly Bennion听and听other members of the Kensinger laboratory publish two articles: "Oversimplification in the study of emotional memory" in the听Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, and "Sleep and cortisol interact to support memory consolidation" in听Cerebral Cortex. Posted 7/8/13.
Assistant Professor听Gorica Petrovich听has been awarded the听. This award honors members (particularly younger members) of the Pavlovian Society for significant research accomplishments.
Christina Reppucci听补苍诲听Gorica Petrovich听report in their forthcoming paper in听Appetite, "," that environmental cues associated with past aversive events can inhibit eating under conditions where rats would normally consume large amounts of food.
Ellen Winner听and Thalia Goldstein have听听commissioned by OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) on the impact of arts education on cognitive and social skills.
Sindy Cole, Daniel Powell, and听Gorica Petrovich听have published a paper in the journal听Learning & Memory听called "."
Kelly Bennion, graduate student in Elizabeth Kensinger's lab, was recently awarded听the听听from the Department of Defense.
Laura Young, doctoral student, has been awarded a听听from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Gene Heyman鈥檚听paper, "," was recently published in the 2013听Annual Review of Clinical Psychology.听It evaluates theories of addiction in light of recent epidemiological trends, animal research, and historical events that transformed American drug use.
Halle Zucker, lab manager in Elizabeth Kensinger's lab, was awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
Graduate student听James Dungan听and incoming graduate student听Lily Tsoi, both in Liane Young's lab, have received Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation.
Two recent graduates from our doctoral program,听听补苍诲听, are listed as "rising stars" in the March 2013听Observer, where their research is described. Both were mentored by Lisa Feldman Barrett and Jim Russell.
Sindy Cole, postdoctoral fellow in Gorica Petrovich's lab, recently had a Journal Club review, "Recruitment of Multiple Pathways to Ventral Tegmental Area during Cocaine-Seeking Behavior," published in听The Journal of Neuroscience.
Joe Pochedly, Sherri Widen, and James Russell听have published听听on the influence of experimental context on how children and adults interpret the prototypical "disgust face." The "disgust face" is labeled as disgusted when it is preceded by a prototypical "angry face", but is labeled as angry when preceded by a facial expression conveying sickness.
Sherri Widen, research associate, and James Russell have a forthcoming article in听Psychological Bulletin听called 鈥淐hildren鈥檚 Recognition of Disgust in Others.鈥� Although children have an elaborated concept of disgust, the majority do not associate the standard disgust face with disgust until they are 9 years of age or older.
Laura Young, doctoral student, has a new paper with Sara Cordes and Ellen Winner called 鈥�.鈥� The article appears in the journal听Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts听and is featured in this听.
Sherri Widen, Ph.D. 2005, former student of James Russell and research associate in the Emotion Development Lab, has accepted an Associate Research Scientist position in the Center for Emotional Intelligence in the Department of Psychology at Yale University.
Elizabeth Kensinger听has won the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Faculty Teaching/Mentoring Award for her outstanding graduate teaching and for her dedicated mentoring of doctoral students.
Jess Karanian听received the Most Outstanding Graduate Poster Presentation at the NEURON Conference.
Angelina Hawley-Dolan听(Arts and Mind Lab) and听Brendan Murray听(Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab) successfully defended their graudate dissertations in March 2013.
Jennifer Drake, Ph.D. 2012, former student of Ellen Winner, accepts a tenure track Assistant Professorship in the Department of Psychology at Brooklyn College, The City University of New York.