SPRING 2008 SEMINARS

Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Richard H. Melloni, Jr., Ph.D.
Department of Psychology & Program in Behavioral Neuroscience
Melloni Aggression Lab
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts

Title: Adolescent Anabolic Steroids and the Neurobiology of Aggression
Host: Jerrold Meyer

Wednesday, February 27
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Moshe Bar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in Radiology at Harvard Medical School
Neuroscience at Massachusetts General Hospital

Title: Top-Down Predictions in Visual Cognition

Host: Kyle Cave

Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Schahram Akbarian, Ph.D., M.D.
Psychiatry Department
UMass Medical School
Worcester, Massachusetts

Title: Chromatin remodeling in Human and Mouse Cerebral Cortex - Implications for the Neurobiology of Major Psychiatric Disease"
Host: Dr. Geert de Vries

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Brian Link, Ph.D.
Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Host: Dr. Abigail Jensen

Monday, April 14, 2008
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Jon Levine, Ph.D.
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Host: Dr. Geert de Vries

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Jeffrey A. French, Ph.D.
Departments of Psychology and Biology
Callitrichid Research Center
University of Nebraska at Omaha

Topic: Understanding Human Infant Care by Studying Marmosets

May 2, 2008 Annual NSB Banquet - UMass Campus Center

Randy J. Nelson, Ph.D.
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience
Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research
The Ohio State University School of Medicine
Columbus, Ohio

Title: Just Say NO: Role of Nitric Oxide on Aggressive Behavior
Host: Nancy Forger

Spring 2008 NSB Brown Bag Seminars

The NSB Brown Bag Series is an informal way to give students and faculty the opportunity to meet and discuss the innovative research being conducted within the NSB Program. The goals of the Brown Bag sessions are to provide NSB members with a better understanding of the research that is conducted within the program, helpful tips for becoming research scientists, and a venue for discussing the needs of the students in the program. Lunch or an afternoon snack is usually provided. The success of the Brown Bags is dependent on involvement from the NSB students and faculty; therefore, all are invited and encouraged to attend.

The NSB Brown Bag Committe: Brian Kelly, Elaine Murray, Ben Rood
Marianne Seney

Talks

Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:00-1:30 p.m. 521B Tobin Hall

Dr. Sarah Partan (Hampshire College) will discuss her reserch. Topics may include: multimodal animal communication, facial expression and vocalization of macaques, visual and auditory courtship in pigeons, audio and seismic social communication in elephants.

Thursday, March 13, 2008 11:20 a.m. Totman Bldg.

Molly Johnson will lead a tour of Dr. Richard Van Emmerik's lab and describe research in the area of motor control and coordination. The research applies principles from complex and nonlinear dynamical systems to the study of posture and locomotion with an emphasis on mechanisms of stability and adaptability in movement coordination.

Thursday, April 3, 2008 12:00-1:30 p.m. 521B Tobin Hall

Ginger Goldsbury from Career Services will lead a session on CV and cover letter writing.

Thursday, May 1, 2008 12:45-1:30 p.m.

Dr. Lisa Scott will begin with a brief introduction to her research using both behavioral and electrophysiological methods (high-density event-related potentials) to study the neural mechanisms of perceptual category learning and perceptual experience in primarily developmental, but also adult human, populations. A lab tour will be included.

If you have any questions or comments concerning the Spring 2008 NSB colloquium schedule, please contact the NSB office at: nsb[at]bio.umass.edu

Please visit the websites for other UMass and Five-College Departmental Seminars:

UMass Molecular & Cellular Biology Seminars
UMass Organismic & Evolutionary Biology Seminars
UMass Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series
Amherst College Neuroscience Seminars
Smith College Biological Sciences Seminars

Below is a sample of other Neuroscience and Behavior Program seminars presented in the past.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Francisco Bezanilla, Ph.D.
Institute for Molecular Pediatric Sciences and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The University of Chicago

Title: How Membrane Proteins Sense Voltage

Host: Gerald Downes

Jointly sponsored with Molecular & Cellular Biology Program

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Pawan Sinha, Ph.D.
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Mass.

Title: From Fragments to Objects: Mechanisms of Visual Integration

Host: Lisa Scott

Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Gregory E. Demas, Ph.D.
Department of Biology and Program in Neuroscience
Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB)
Indiana University-Bloomington

Title:  To Everything There is a Season: Neuroendocrine Regulation of Seasonal Changes in Immunity

Host: Eric Bittman

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Peter Thomas, Ph.D.
Marine Science Institute
The University of Texas at Austin
Port Aransas, Texas

Feature Story - Fishing for Secrets of the Sea

Host: Thomas Zoeller

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Peter R. Rapp, Ph.D.
Fishberg Department of Neuroscience
Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, New York

Title: Neurocognitive Aging - Past and Present

Host: Agnès Lacreuse

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Michael M. Francis, Ph.D.
Department of Neurobiology
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester

Title: Cellular mechanisms for regulation of excitatory synapses in C. elegans".

Host: Daniel Chase
Jointly sponsored with Molecular & Cellular Biology Program

FALL 2007 NSB BROWN BAG SEMINARS

October 11, 2007     12:00-1:00 P.M. Room 521B Tobin Hall
Dr. Cynthia J. Gill, Natural Sciences, Hamsphire College. Topic: neural regulation and connectivity in response to hormonally-mediated environmental cues.

October 18, 2007 12:00-1:00 P.M. Room 521B Tobin Hall
Student Discussion of the NSB Program and Discussion of student nominated speaker

October 25, 2007 - graduate student meeting to discuss AQAD

November 14, 2007     2:00-3:00 P.M. Room 521B Tobin Hall
Dr. Agnès Lacreuse: to lead a discuss on articles by Peter Rapp. Dr. Rapp will be presenting an NSB seminar on Nov. 28. This discussion will be geared toward the style of the comprehensive exams scheduled for January 2008.
              
November 29, 2007     12:00-1:00 P.M. Room 521B Tobin Hall
Dr. Daniel Chase: to lead a comprehensive exam-type discussion

February 7, 2007
Title: Sex Differences in Pain and Analgesia
Anne Z. Murphy, Ph.D. (Biology Dept, Georgia State University, Atlanta)

February 9, 2007
Title: Testosterone, Aggression and Seasons: Integration of Ecology and Endocrinology
John C. Wingfield, Ph.D. (Zoology Dept, University of Washington)
Sinauer Associates Lectureship in Biology

February 21, 2007
Title: The Impact of Everyday Life Stresses on Reproductive Function: Mechanisms Underlying Stress Sensitivity
Judy L. Cameron, Ph.D. (Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh
Divisions of Reproductive Science & Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center)

March 13, 2007
Title: Systems Approach to Understanding Biological Clocks
Steve A. Kay, Ph.D. (The Scripps Research Institute, Dept. Cell Biology
La Jolla, California)
Sinauer Associates Lectureship in Biology and jointly sponsored seminar with Molecular and Cellular Biology

March 28, 2007
Title: Cyclooxygenase-2: Regulation and Role in Excitotoxic Neuronal
Injury
Sandra J. Hewett, Ph.D. (Dept. Neuroscience, Univ of Connecticut Health Center)

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Title: Effects of Ovarian Steroids on Learning and Memory: Deciphering Mixed Results
Donna L. Korol, Ph.D. (Psychology Dept, Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

April 25, 2007
Title: Activity-Dependent Development of the Zebrafish Spinal Cord
Angeles B. Ribera, Ph.D (Dept of Physiology and Biophysics
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center at Fitzsimons)

May 2, 2007
Title: Broken Ties - Social Isolation and the Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Cancer and Aging
Martha McClintock, Ph.D. (Div of Biological Sciences, Univ of Chicago)

Sponsored by the Vice Provost for Research, The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and the NSB and MCB Programs

May 11, 2007- Annual NSB Banquet - UMass Campus Center
After Dinner Talk: Regenerative Therapeutic Processes in Parkinson's Disease
Ole Isacson, Ph.D. (Neuroregeneration Lab,Harvard Med School/McLean Hospital)

September 20, 2006
Title: A Developmental Role for Oxytocin and Estrogen in Monogamy
Kristin M. Kramer, Ph.D (Biology Dept, University of Memphis)

September 27, 2006
Title: Identifying Physiological Mechanisms of Dopamine Signaling Using Genetic Analysis in C. elegans
Daniel Chase, Ph.D.(Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Massachusetts Amherst)

October 25, 2006
Title: Positive Effects of Estrogen Treatment on Cognition and Neurobiology in Primates
Mary Lou Voytko, Ph.D. (Dept Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine)

November 8, 2006
Title: Motoneuron Disease: Challenging the Dogma
Cynthia L. Jordan, Ph.D. ( Department of Psychology, Michigan State University)
Jointly sponsored seminar with Molecular and Cellular Biology

November 15, 2006
Title: Tau-dependent Microtubule Disassembly Induced by Pre-fibrillar Beta-amyloid: a Seminal Cell Biological Event in Alzheimer's Disease?
George S. Bloom, Ph.D (Dept Biology, University of Virginia-Charlottesville)

December 4, 2006
Title: Dynamic Systems Level Memory Processing in Drosophila
Scott Waddell, Ph.D. (Dept Neurobiology, UMass Medical School-Worcester)

December 9, 2006
Neuroscience 20th Annual Celebration, Room 163 UMass Campus Center
Invited Alumni Speakers:

Rick Bevins (University of Nebraska)
Lauren Shearman (Merck Research Laboratories)
Anthony Auger (University of Wisconsin)
Horacio de la Iglesia (University of Washington)
Lei Zhou (University of Florida)

February 8, 2006
Title: Insights into How Hormones Control Social Behaviors
Frank L. Moore, Ph.D (Biology Dept,Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon)

February 22, 2006
Title: The Social Brain
Gregory McCarthy, Ph.D. (Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center)

March 15, 2006
Title: Cortical Mechanisms of Attentional Control
Steven Yantis, Ph.D. ( DeptPsychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins Univ)

April 5, 2006
Title: The Accessory Olfactory System in Mice: What is it Good For?
James A. Cherry, Ph.D ( Psychology Dept, Boston University)

April 12, 2006
Title: Synaptic Plasticity, Axonal/Dendritic Transport, Myosin5 and the Actin Cytoskeleton
George Langford, Ph.D. (Dean, CNSM, UMass Amherst)

April 26, 2006
Title: The Developmental Role of Stem Cells May Suggest Novel Therapeutic Applications
Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D.
The Snyder Laboratory Website
The Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Neuroscience & Aging Research Center (Stem Cell Research Center)
La Jolla, California

May 3, 2006
Title: Genetic Analysis of Myelination Using Zebrafish
Bruce Appel, Ph.D ( Dept of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University)

May 12, 2006 Annual NSB Banquet - The Lord Jeffery Inn
Title: How Gene X Environment Interactions Can Shape Individual Differences in Biobehavioral Development in Rhesus Monkeys
Stephen J. Suomi, Ph.D. (Laboratory of Comparative Ethology
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health, DHHS)

February 9, 2005
Susan L. Schantz, Ph.D.
Department of Veterinary Biosciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois

February 16, 2005
Marina Picciotto, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry
Yale University Schol of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut

Seminar Title: "Nicotine, Addiction and Learning: Studies Using Constitutive and Conditional Knockout of the High Affinity Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors"

February 25, 2005
Eric Bittman will show a 50-minute film Frank Beach, founder of the field of behavioral neuroendocrinology.

March 2, 2005
Linda J. Richards, Ph.D.
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

Seminar Title: "Midline Axon Guidance in the Forebrain and Development of the Corpus Callosum"

CANCELLED
March 30, 2005 - To be rescheduled
Seminar Location: Room 319 Morrill Science Center III-South Wing

Ann M. Skoczenski, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Waltham, Mass.

Seminar Title: "Neural Processing of Visual Patterns Insights From Normal and Abnormal Human Development"

April 13, 2005
Toni E. Ziegler, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin
National Primate Research Center and Department of Psychology
Madison, Wisconsin

Seminar Title: "She Can Lead Him Around by the Nose": Neuroendocrine Responsiveness of Male Cooperatively Breeding Monkeys to Female Scent Signals"

April 20, 2005
Lawrence P. Morin, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Health Science Center
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York

Seminar Title: "Viewing the Brain Through the Circadian Visual System"

April 29, 2005 - Annual NSB Banquet - The Lord Jeffery Inn
4:30-9:30 p.m.

Larry J. Young, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Yerkes Research Center
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

After dinner keynote address: Molecular Bases of Social Bonding

September 28, 2005
Title: Molecular and Genomic Analyses of Social Behavior in the Honey Bee
Gene E. Robinson, Ph.D. (Entomology Dept, Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

October 26, 2005
Title: How GPR54 and its Ligand Regulate Reproduction- A Kiss to Remember!
Robert A. Steiner, Ph.D. ( Obstetrics & Gynecology and Physiology & Biophysics, Univ of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle)

November 2. 2005
Title: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Reward and Addiction
Wei-Dong Yao, Ph.D. (Psychiatry Dept, Harvard Medical School, New England Primate Research Center)

November 9. 2005
Title: Roles of Glial Cells in Synaptic Function, Growth, and Maintenance
Chien-Ping Ko, Ph.D. (Biological Sciences Dept, Univ Southern California, Los Angeles)

November 30, 2005
Title: A Novel Neuroactive Role for Menthol and Related Monoterpeniods
Adam Hall, Ph.D. ( Neuroscience and Biochemistry Programs
Dept of Biological Sciences, Smith College)

December 6, 2005
Title: The Ontogeny of Mammalian Sleep: From Muscle to Neocortex
Mark S. Blumberg, Ph.D.
Department of Biology, Oregon State University
Washington Post Article
Sponsored by the Vice Provost for Research, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, NSB & MCB

February 9, 2004
Title: Early Hypothalamic Development: A Walk on the Live Side
Stuart Tobet, Ph.D.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University

February 11, 2004
Title: Neuroprotective and Neurotrophic Effects of Gonadal Steroids
Neil James MacLusky, Ph.D.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Center for Endometriosis Treatment and Research, Columbia University

February 25, 2004
Title: Speeding to Ecstasy: The Neurotoxic Effects of the Amphetamines
Bryan K. Yamamoto, Ph.D.
Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine

March 10, 2004
Title: Multi-directional Signaling at Neuromuscular and Hippocampal Synapses
Rita Balice-Gordon, Ph.D.
Department of Neuroscience, Univ of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

March 31, 2004
Title: Strange Vision: What the Eye Tells the Brain's Clock
David M. Berson, Ph.D.
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University

GRASS TRAVELING SCIENTIST LECTURE - April 7, 2004
Title: Estrogens and Synapses: A New View of the Intracellular Actions of Estrogens
Bruce S. McEwen, Ph.D.
Laboratory of Neuroendocrinolgy
Rockefeller University

April 21, 2004
Title: Puberty: A Finishing School for Male Social Behavior
Cheryl L. Sisk, Ph.D.
Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University

April 28, 2004
Title: Neuronal Development in the Absence of Programmed Cell Death
Ronald W. Oppenheim, Ph.D.
Dept of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

May 5, 2004 - Annual NSB Banquet - The Lord Jeffery Inn
William T. Greenough, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois

Title: From Neurons to Cognition: Plastic Brain Mechanisms in Development, Learning and Memory, and Pathology

September 29, 2004
Pierre Drapeau, Ph.D.
Centre for Research in Neuroscience
Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Seminar Title: Development of the Locomotor Network in Zebrafish

October 5, 2004
Baldomero Olivera, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Seminar Title: Using Deadly Cone Snails to Probe Nervous Systems
University of Utah News and Public Relations

November 4, 2004
Paul W. Glimcher, Ph.D.
New York University
Center for Neural Science

Seminar Title: The Neurobiological Basis of Decision: Learning and Representing the Desirabilities of Actions

November 10, 2004
Lance J. Kriegsfeld, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Columbia University
New York, New York

Seminar Title: The Regulation of Neuroendocrine Function and Behavior: Timing is Everything"

December 1, 2004
Catherine Woolley, Ph.D.
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Seminar Title: Estrogen and Synapses in the Hippocampus

December 8, 2004
Alan C. Kamil, Ph.D.
School of Biological Sciences
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Seminar Title: Predation, Crypticity and Polymorphism: The Evolution of Virtual Prey