The Psychobiology Program

at Wheaton College

Wheaton Psychobiology Research Team Goes to Washington!

Page Table of Contents:

What is Psychobiology?

What can one do with a major in Psychobiology?

Where are some Wheaton Psychobiologists now?

The Psychobiology major requirements

Resources and equipment at Wheaton for Psychobiology faculty and students

Psychobiologists Do Science!

Some samples of Psychobiology student/faculty research (on-line text of poster presentations; abstracts of publications)

Cool links for Psychobiology students

Resources for Psychobiology teachers

What is Psychobiology?

The field of Psychobiology includes all of the interface between Psychology and Biology. This includes:

• animal behavior
• developmental psychobiology
• neurobiology
• psychopharmacology
• cognitive neuroscience
• neuroendocrinology
• psychoneuroimmunology
• health psychology
• physiological psychology

Where are Some Wheaton Psychobiologists Now?

Psychobiology alums from Wheaton have found employment in a variety of sed for graduate training in any of the fields mentioned above, as well as for professional training in medicine or veterinary medicine. They may find jobs in research laboratories, biotechnology, zoological parks, aquariums, industry, or education.

Where are Some Wheaton Psychobiologists Now?

Psychobiology alums from Wheaton have found employment in a variety of settings. Below is just a partial list of the kinds of opportunities that Wheaton Psychobiologists have made for themselves using their Wheaton training:

Dr. Cheryl Frye '88: Assistant Professor of Psychology, SUNY Albany

Jennifer Palaia '92: Massachusetts Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries

Stacy Nee-MacFarlane '93: ABD in Neuroscience, Univ. of Alabama

Leslie Stefanowitz '94: Nurse practioner, Boston

Rob LoPiccolo '95: Administrative Staff, Nature (the science journal), Washington, D.C.

Heather Millette '97: Research Assistant, McLean Hospital

Emily Gates '97: Child Life Services, Univ. of Chicago Hospital

Jonathan Thayer '97: Research Assistant II, Organogenesis (Canton, MA)

Igor Schwartzman '98: Research Assistant, Harvard School of Public Health

David Foote '98: Physical Therapy Assistant, Beth Israel/Deaconess Hospital

The Psychobiology Program at Wheaton

The interdisciplinary major in Psychobiology is intended to fill the needs of students seeking an understanding of the biological bases of behavior. It guides the student toward investigation of physiological, genetic, structural, developmental, and evolutionary foundations of human and non-human animal behavior, using the techniques of several subdisciplines of Psychology and Biology.

The major consists of the following required courses:

COURSE NUMBER	COURSE NAME	SEMESTER TYPICALLY OFFERED
Biology 111 or Biology 101	Concepts in Biology or An Introduction to Biology*	Fall   Spring
Psychology 101	Introductory Psychology	Every semester
Biology 211	Genetics	Spring
Biology 244	Comparative Chordate Anatomy and Evolution	Spring
Biology 255	Introductory Physiology	Fall
Math 141	Introductory Statistics	Every semester
Psychology/Biology 226	Comparative Animal Behavior	Spring
Psychology 203 or Biology 298	Developmental Psychology or Developmental Biology	Every semester   Fall
Psychology 323	Physiological Psychology	Every other spring
Psychology 346 or Psychology349 or Biology 398	Laboratory in Biopsychology or Laborabory in Animal Communication and Cognition or Neurobiology	Every other fall   Every other fall   Every other spring
Psychology 097	Senior Seminar in Psychobiology	Fall
One semester course in Chemistry	any chem	Every semester
Two free electives	n/a	n/a

 *with consent of Psychobiology Advisors

In addition to the selection of courses, students majoring in Psychobiology are encouraged to pursue independent research (Psychology/Biology 099, 399, or 500) as a means towards total integration of the two fundamental disciplines. Recent Psychobiology student research projects have included an investigation of the effectiveness of stress management workshops on stress and physical health, a study of the relationship between adult attachment styles and trait anxiety, an evaluation of a grade school environmental education program, a comparative study of language use in schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic people, investigations of the effects of prenatal stress on infant brain development, social behavior, and pain tolerance, and a study of olfactory communication in green iguana. Student researchers regularly take their results to regional and national conferences, and in many cases, publish their work with their faculty supervisors.

Resources at Wheaton for Psychobiologists

• Campus Vivarium: outfitted with 125 gal and 40 gal River Systems freshwater tanks; additional smaller tanks housing African and South American cichlids, other small fish; rats in a unique community cage setting; green iguana colony; invertebrates; turtles; lizards; cold-water marine tanks
• Observation Room: outfitted with one-way glass window, closed circuit video recording, computer-aided videotracking
• Microscopy Room: fluorescent microscopes with full video and still-photo imaging
• Behavioral Testing Equipment: including Morris water maze, radial arm maze, open fields, T-maze, elevated plus maze
• Cell Culture Room
• Histology Resources: wax-impregnation technologies and freezing microtome; computer-aided image analysis
• Psychophysiological Recording/Manipulation: stereotaxic instruments, Grass Instruments polygraph recorders, bioamplifiers, stimulators, and lesion-makers; B&K real-time oscilloscopes; MacLab system virtual oscilloscopes and electrophysiological recording instruments
• "Outside" Resources: documented and state-protected vernal pool; multi-acre undeveloped woodlot, mapped arboretum; close proximity to Capron Park Zoo, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Norton Town Conservancy land
• GC Mass Spectroscopy
• GROWING! The list of available equipment continues to grow, as Wheaton successfully competes for grants for math and science equipment

For more information:

Please call or write to:

Dr. Kathleen N. Morgan

Department of Psychology

Wheaton College

Norton, MA 02766

PHONE: 508/286-3934

FAX: 508/285-8278

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