Neurobiology and Behavior
One of the most deeply puzzling questions in biology concerns how animals are able to obtain useful sensory information from the environment and then choose a course of action that enhances their survival and reproduction in the environment. Zoology faculty approach this problem using a diverse array of methods that focus on both the ecological and evolutionary processes that favor some behavior patterns over others and the sensory and neural mechanisms by which the brain mediates behavior at different life stages.
Neurobiology/Behavior Faculty
(* faculty members who are accepting graduate students in Zoology)
-
James Atkinson*, Professor
Development, evolution, and behavior of land snails -
S. Marc Breedlove*, Rosenberg Professor of Neuroscience
Behavioral endocrinology and molecular neuroscience in mammals (jointly appointed with Psychology and Neuroscience) -
Lynwood Clemens*, Professor
Behavioral endocrinology and systems neuroscience in mammals -
Fred Dyer*, Professor
Animal behavior; learning and decision-making in insects -
Heather Eisthen*, Associate Professor
Olfaction; Evolution and development of vertebrate nervous systems -
Thomas Getty*, Professor
Behavioral ecology; perception and decision-making by birds (jointly appointed with the Kellogg Biological Station) -
Kay Holekamp*, Professor
Animal behavior; behavioral ecology of rodents and carnivores -
Barbara Lundrigan*, Associate Professor and Curator
Mammalian systematics; behavioral and morphological evolution (jointly appointed with the MSU Museum) -
Kyle Miller*, Assistant Professor
Molecular basis of cellular transport in axons in Drosophila and in vertebrates -
Laura Smale*, Professor
Neuroscience and behavior; mechanism and evolution of circadian rhythms in mammals (jointly appointed with Psychology) -
Juli Wade*, Professor
Hormones and behavior in songbirds and anolis lizards; sex differences in brain and behavior; sexual differentiation (jointly appointed with Psychology)