Dr. Mark Galizio (Psychopharmacology, Principal Investigator)

    Dr. Galizio's research interests lie in psychopharmacology and the experimental analysis of human and non-human behavior. Recent projects include the investigation of the effects of club drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy), methamphetamine, and methylphenidate (Ritalin) on both spatial and non-spatial learning and memory in rats. These procedures explore the possibility that drugs like MDMA may produce long-term interference with learning and complex behavior. Dr. Galizio also uses some of the same behavioral procedures to try to determine whether other, experimental compounds might be able to enhance learning and memory processes. Specifically, Dr. Galizio and his students are exploring whether drugs that act on various sub-receptors of the GABA system of the brain might act as “cognitive enhancers”. Other current psychopharmacology projects include examining the effects of NMDA antagonists (often used to treat conditions that involve excitotoxicity such as stroke and Alzeheimer's) on olfactory memory span and delayed matching-to-sample tasks. Dr. Galizio also has interests in human and non-human concept learning and currently collaborates with Dr. Kate Bruce on animal behavior projects focusing on these topics.