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Dr. Steve
Reilly
My research
concerns the neural mechanisms of learning, memory, and motivation. Current
investigations focus on the roles of the parabrachial nucleus and the
gustatory thalamus in basic learning phenomena. The parabrachial nucleus
is critically important for the acquisition of conditioned taste aversions
(CTAs), a fundamental learning process that protects against the repeated
ingestion of poisonous foods. The CTA mechanism is so effective that people
undergoing chemotherapy oftentimes develop aversions to their normal dietary
items because the unpleasant consequences of the chemotherapy are associated
with food despite the fact that the patient is fully aware that the food
did not cause the illness. Thus, one area of our research concerns the
role of the parabrachial nucleus and other brain regions in the acquisition
of acquired taste aversions. Our second main area of interest concerns
the gustatory thalamus. This area of the brain is not a component of the
neural system responsible for the acquisition of simple CTAs. Rather,
the gustatory thalamus is involved with more complex CTA phenomena, such
as overshadowing and blocking. In addition, the gustatory thalamus has
an important, but as yet incompletely understood, role in the determination
of the relative value of rewarding stimuli. We believe that studies of
the behavioral functions of the gustatory thalamus will benefit our understanding
of how the brain processes reward-related information and integrates memory
and motivation. Furthermore, since the use of drugs of abuse is a recent
development that likely is dependent upon much of the neural circuitry
that evolved to mediate ingestive behavior, the gustatory thalamus may
have a role in drug seeking and addiction. Thus, a thorough investigation
of the functional significance of the gustatory thalamus may have wide
reaching implications concerning the neural integration of different forms
of reward and their resultant impact on motivated behavior.
Courses Taught:
PSCH
242 Introduction to Research in Psychology
*Students currently enrolled in any of the listed courses can obtain class information from Blackboard
Contact Information:
Address:
Department of Psychology
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
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