Behavioral Research Blog

Zebrafish with Parkinson's

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is one of the main neurodegenerative diseases and many researchers are involved in investigating this disease and developing treatments

Connects some dots - cognitive impairment and cranial radiation

On a yearly basis, an estimated 20.000 individuals are diagnosed with primary brain tumors in the United States alone. About ten times that number of patients will receive treatment for primary or metastatic brain cancer.

Human-robot interaction: Can you trust a robot?

How do you know if someone with whom you do business is telling the truth? When buying something from a stranger, we are trying to determine if he or she can be trusted, either consciously or unconsciously.

Beautiful birds and UV – What we cannot see

Don’t we all enjoy the variety and intensity of bird colors? Male birds have perhaps the most impressive color display in nature.

Zebrafish tracking to uncover subtle effects of embryonic alcohol exposure

Zebrafish are not the first species one might think of as being exposed to alcohol in their natural environment.

Why it is smart to test your animal in its home cage

Behavior of laboratory rodents is often studied in well-controlled, simple experiments, in an environment that is fundamentally different from the animal’s home cage.

Optogenetics and operant conditioning

A great example of optogenetics in behavioral studies is the work of Dr. Kravitz and Dr. Kreitzer at the Kreitzer lab (currently, Kravitz works at the NIDDK in Bethesda). Let me tell you about it.

Observations of surgeons as a tool to assess competency

Medical doctors receive extensive education and training before and during their time spent working at a hospital or clinic.

Video tracking and a bug repellant stronger than DEET

Last year the news was hitting the internet: The Zwiebel lab (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA) may have found a new bug repellant that is stronger than DEET.

Optogenetics - Shining a light on brains and behavior

Brains are complicated. We all know that. Like an entangled bunch of wires. Still, over the years, neuroscientists have been able to map out several brain regions and their functions in behavior and physiology.

What behaviors to focus on – Airport passenger experiences

To learn more about airport design and to investigate how to make time at an airport more enjoyable, Livingstone et al. undertook a study into passenger experience.

Three examples of autism research studies

Knowledge is the key to developing a better understanding of autism. Researchers often observe and code behavior in combination with other research methods.