Position
Distinguished Investigator, Chief,
Cellular and Neurocomputational Systems Branch
Chief,
Behavioral Neurophysiology Neuroscience Section
Contact
Biomedical Research Center251 Bayview Boulevard
Suite 200
Room 06A705
Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 667-312-5273
Email: geoffrey.schoenbaum@nih.gov
Education
Post-doctoral Training - University of North Carolina and Johns Hopkins University (Advisor: Dr Michela Gallagher)
M.D. - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996
Ph.D. - Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1994 (Advisor: Dr Howard Eichenbaum)
B.S. - Biology, University of Georgia at Athens, 1989
Research Interests
Our lab is interested in the neural circuits mediating associative learning and decision making and how alterations in those circuits contribute to maladaptive behaviors in neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction. We use rats as a model system to study behaviors and neural circuits that we believe have direct relevance to understanding the human brain. Areas of particular interest include the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, striatum, and midbrain dopamine system. Our lab uses behavioral tasks based on principles derived from learning theory, combined with single unit recording, lesions, pharmacological and genetic manipulations to test hypotheses about how these areas interact to support learning and adaptive behavior.
Publications
