Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience Behavioral neruoscience/ Department of Psychological Sciences animal learning Kansas State University

Graduate students interested in a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience are encouraged to explore opportunities at Kansas State University. The university’s Department of Psychological Sciences is home to the Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity Center, or CNAP, funded by a $10.6 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Doctoral students in the program have access to a rich training and research environment through CNAP’s various projects and connections to other research facilities. Learn more about the CNAP Center at k-state.edu/cnap.

Our faculty and their research

Mary Cain Doctorate from the University of Vermont. The neurobiological basis of drug abuse using rat models that vary in vulnerability to drug use. Current projects examine the role of glutamate homeostasis in amphetamine self-administration, incubation of amphetamine craving and effects of adolescent binge drinking on neuronal structure in adulthood.

Kimberly Kirkpatrick Doctorate from the University of Iowa. The role of basic cognitive processes in impulsive and risky-choice behavior, including timing and reward processing. Current projects include sources of individual differences in impulsive and risky-choice behavior, neuro-cognitive interventions and diet-induced impulsive choice.

Charles Pickens Doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. Examining the effects of ketamine on cognitive flexibility and brain areas affected on neurotransmitter systems, manipulations that may prevent growth of fear after a traumatic experience, the effects of alcohol on cognitive flexibility and the decision- making relationship, and circuit-level interactions between brain areas required for goal-directed action.

Bethany Plakke Doctorate from the University of Iowa. Utilizing a rodent model of autism to examine the neurobiology of the disorder and to study changes in cognitive flexibility, cross-modal learning and multisensory processing.

For more information on the doctoral program in behavioral neuroscience at K-State visit k-state.edu/psych/graduate.