The Program in Neuroscience at Florida State University is highly collaborative with several broad areas of research excellence. Many faculty members participate in more than one research area, providing opportunities for students to customize their research experiences - training across multiple research areas, or focusing on one area of specific interest.
Chemical Senses, Ingestive Behavior, and Obesity
Research in this area explores the brain mechanisms that mediate our interactions with the chemical and nutritive environment, particularly those interactions that lead to obesity and other metabolic disorders. Student research in this area is supported by a Chemical Senses Training Grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Human Neuroscience and Animal Models of Cognition
Research in this area involves the use of fMRI, TMS, and EEG to explore affective and cognitive processes in the human brain. This work is complemented by investigation in animal models to address the cellular and synaptic basis of human cognitive processes.
Molecular Genetics, Proteomics, and Membrane Biophysics
In part, brain function can be understood in terms of the unique cellular properties of neurons. Research in this area utilizes cutting-edge electrophysiological, viral, optogenetic, and pharmacological techniques to explore neural function at a molecular level of analysis.
Neurobiology of Brain Injury and Disease
Brain diseases, along with traumatic brain injuries and stroke, are an enormous social and economic burden on our society. Research in this area utilizes animal models to understand and treat the molecular and circuit pathologies that underlie neurological and psychiatric disease, as well as the mechanisms of recovery from CNS trauma.
Neuroendocrinology, Social Behavior, Stress, and Drug Addiction
Research in this area explores the underlying mechanisms of neuroendocrine communication in order to understand the profound influence of hormones on behavior, sex differences in social behavior and mood, the effects of stress on brain and behavior, and the susceptibility of the brain to drugs of abuse.