Neurobiology and Behavior Research

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Neurobiology and Behavior Research Faculty

Neurobiology of behaviors related to drug abuse and dependence


These faculty study the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms underlying drug abuse and dependence of drugs such as nicotine, alcohol, sedative-anxiolytics and stimulants as well as developing abuse-deterrent technologies and examining the links between obesity/eating disorders and drug abuse.

Neurobiology of mood disorders and schizophrenia

These faculty study the neurobiology, neuroanatomy, and genomics underlying mood disorders and schizophrenia as well and the biological mechanisms of therapeutic interventions for these disorders.

Brain development and aging

These faculty study the factors such as exposure to drugs of abuse, psychotherapeutic drug exposure in utero and during lactation or, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep alter the trajectory of brain and behavioral development. This group also follows the brain as it ages normally and in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Genetics and psychiatric disease

This group focuses on the genetic factors at play in psychiatric disorders: risk factors associated with disease, gene expression changes associated with disease, or genetic factors associated with treatment response (pharmacogenetics). They use genetic and genomic tools to understand how the brain functions and how dysfunction leads to disease.