Neuroscience Resources
Research and Teaching Facilities
In addition to its science and neuroscience teaching laboratories, Skidmore maintains research facilities to support collaborative student-faculty and faculty research.
Each faculty member has dedicated individualized research space for conducting professional research and engaging students in collaborative research during the academic year and summers. Both departments also have specialized animal care facilities supporting research by neuroscience program faculty.
Animal Care Facilities
The psychology and biology departments each house small functional animal care facilities for rodents. Each is approximately 700 square feet, with separate small photoperiod-controlled and ventilated rooms for housing animals, small animal surgery, clean storage, and cage-washing. Each can house approximately 100 rats or mice. A one-third-time animal caretaker position is dedicated to daily animal care and maintenance for the two facilities. The college operates an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, has an active New York State License for care and use of animals, and an active Public Health Service Animal Welfare Assurance.
Faculty/Student Research Facilities
David Domozych (biology), director of the Skidmore College Microscopy Imaging Center (SMIC), maintains a scanning and transmission electron microscope facility, a light microscope laboratory equipped with a micromanipulator, two research phase contrast microscopes, and an imaging system for routine and fluorescent imaging analysis and the SMIC facility.
Denise Evert in psychology maintains a Cognitive Neuroscience laboratory that includes software and hardware for stimulus generation, presentation, and manipulation of visual images, including words, pictures, and faces. The facilities include Macintosh computers, display multiscan monitors, PsyScope response button boxes, and related software for divided-visual field studies to assess hemispheric specialization of function.
Hugh Foley in psychology maintains a perception laboratory which includes facilities for the presentation and manipulation of a wide range of visual phenomena including visual illusions. Facilities include Macintosh computers, scanners and related software for object and face perception research.
Mary Ann Foley in psychology maintains a cognitive psychology laboratory which includes facilities for stimulation generation and presentation, stereographic presentation via computer allowing for assessment of a variety of types of memory processes.
Corey Freeman-Gallant in biology maintains a DNA fingerprinting laboratory in conjunction with his avian field research.
Hassan López directs a behavioral neuroscience laboratory, which contains a rodent vivarium (for housing of rats and mice), behavioral testing equipment for the analysis of sexual behavior and motivation, a wet-lab for preparation and delivery of pharmacological agents, and a separate human testing room for experiments on sexual attraction and desire.
Roy Meyers in biology maintains a laboratory equipped for cardiovascular, respiratory and electrophysiological recording from small animals, including small mammals, frogs and turtles and A/D physiological recording equipment for EEG and psychophysiologial measurements.'
Anita Miller in psychology directs a psychophysiology teaching laboratory. James Long Company hardware and software implement protocols for studying emotional startle modulation and related phenomena in human participants.
Flip Phillips in psychology directs an eye, brain and vision laboratory which includes facilities for real-time 3-D stimulus generation, stereographic presentation, and a wide variety of response measurement systems.
Bernard Possidente maintains a laboratory equipped for automated monitoring and analysis of up to 64 rodents in running wheels under controlled photoperiods for circadianrhythm analysis, and has eight "Actiwatches" for automated recording of human activity.
Monica Raveret-Richter maintains a small aviary, and an animal behavior lab with resident bee colonies, Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches, and other insects, Anolis lizards, and a variety of tropical fish; she also conducts field research on insects and birds.
Biology research is also supported by two walk-in cold rooms, two minus 80 degree Centigrade freezers, and an ultracentrifuge.
Teaching Laboratory Resources
The psychology department has recently constructed a new 800-square-foot neuroscience teaching laboratory to support laboratory instruction in NS 101, as well as lab instruction in other neuroscience courses (PS213 Hormones and Behavior, PS304 Physiological Psychology). The lab is equipped with seven computer-interfaced psychophysiological recording stations, neuroanatomical brain and spinal cord models, a computer-controlled multimedia projection system, sheep brain dissection equipment, and software for laboratory demonstrations and integration of information technology.
In the NS 101 course, for example, students participate in four main laboratories throughout the semester. In the first lab, they learn about functional neuroanatomy through dissections of sheep brains, disassembly of human brain models, and utilization of interactive neuroanatomy software. For the second laboratory, they use interactive computer simulation software to explore in detail the mechanisms underlying neural transmission. Specifically, they conduct experiments in which they manipulate certain variables (e.g., the temperature of the neuron, whether the axon is myelinated, the presence of anesthetic agents/toxins) and observe the effects on neural transmission. For the last two labs they learn how to make recordings of various bioelectric signals (galvanic skin responset GSR, electrocardiogram--ECG, and event-related potentialst ERPs) and study how these are associated with emotional and cognitive processes.
The psychology department also has a computer-based teaching lab, equipped with 12 Macintosh G3 266 computers with data acquisition and analysis software, dedicated to laboratory instruction for PS217 Statistical Methods in Psychology, PS306 Experimental Psychology and several other courses.
The six biology department faculty each maintain a 1200 square foot teaching laboratory dedicated to lab instruction in their respective courses. The physiology teaching lab in biology is equipped with five computerized physiological recording stations with Grass recorders linked to PowerLab A/D data collection hardware and software for neurophysiological monitoring (heart rate reflex regulation, EMG & GSR analysis & biofeedback, EEG recording & frequency analysis and evoked potentials) Linked with Grass AC & DC isolated preamps, extracellular nerve and cardiac action potential recording and analysis are also done). Biology lab instruction is also supported by DNA electrophoresis set-ups for lab sections of sixteen students, eight wireless laptop computers, 48 Wilde dissecting microscopes and 48 Nikon compound microscopes, two walk-in cold rooms, two minus 80 degree Centigrade freezers, an ultracentrifuge, two autoclaves, and mammalian tissue culture facilities. An existing laboratory will be renovated and equipped so serve as a histology facility over the summer.
Library Resources
The Scribner library has more than 300,000 monographs and 1,700 periodical subscriptions in its collection. Students and faculty have free access to the collection during the academic year and summers. Interlibrary loan service is also provided to students and faculty and full document delivery is available on other key items. The list is partial and not meant to be exhaustive.
Neuroscience Journals
The Scribner library currently subscribes to fourteen research journals specializing exclusively in neuroscience research (plus the Annual Review of Neuroscience):
Behavior and Brain Sciences
Behavioral and Neural Biology
Behavioral Ecology and Neuroscience
Brain and Language
Cognitive Neuropsychology
Developmental Psychobiology
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
Journal of Neurophysiology
Journal of Neuroscience
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Neurogenetics
Neuropsychology
Psychobiology
Trends in Neuroscience
Related Journals
The library also has current subscriptions to 34 additional journals with significant coverage of neuroscience research: (plus numerous annual volumes (e.g. the Annual Review of Physiology):
American Journal of Physiology
American Journal of Psychiatry
Animal Behaviour
Animal Learning and Behavior
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Biological Rhythms Research
Chronobiology International
Comparative biochemistry and Physiology, Part. A:
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Consciousness and cognition
Hormones and Behavior
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Journal of Animal Behavior
Journal of Biological Rhythms
Journal of Cognitive Psychology
Journal of Comparative Physiology, A and B.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Learning and Memory
Memory and Cognition
Motivation and Emotion
Nature
Nature Medicine
Nature Genetics
Perception
Perception and Psychophysics
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
Physiology & Behavior
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA
Psychophysiology
Psychiatry
Schizophrenia Bulletin
Science
Sleep
Trends in Cognitive Science
Assorted monographs
Research and Teaching Facilities
In addition to its science and neuroscience teaching laboratories, Skidmore maintains research facilities to support collaborative student-faculty and faculty research.
Each faculty member has dedicated individualized research space for conducting professional research and engaging students in collaborative research during the academic year and summers. Both departments also have specialized animal care facilities supporting research by neuroscience program faculty.
Animal Care Facilities
The psychology and biology departments each house small functional animal care facilities for rodents. Each is approximately 700 square feet, with separate small photoperiod-controlled and ventilated rooms for housing animals, small animal surgery, clean storage, and cage-washing. Each can house approximately 100 rats or mice. A one-third-time animal caretaker position is dedicated to daily animal care and maintenance for the two facilities. The college operates an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, has an active New York State License for care and use of animals, and an active Public Health Service Animal Welfare Assurance.
Faculty/Student Research Facilities
David Domozych (biology), director of the Skidmore College Microscopy Imaging Center (SMIC), maintains a scanning and transmission electron microscope facility, a light microscope laboratory equipped with a micromanipulator, two research phase contrast microscopes, and an imaging system for routine and fluorescent imaging analysis and the SMIC facility.
Denise Evert in psychology maintains a Cognitive Neuroscience laboratory that includes software and hardware for stimulus generation, presentation, and manipulation of visual images, including words, pictures, and faces. The facilities include Macintosh computers, display multiscan monitors, PsyScope response button boxes, and related software for divided-visual field studies to assess hemispheric specialization of function.
Hugh Foley in psychology maintains a perception laboratory which includes facilities for the presentation and manipulation of a wide range of visual phenomena including visual illusions. Facilities include Macintosh computers, scanners and related software for object and face perception research.
Mary Ann Foley in psychology maintains a cognitive psychology laboratory which includes facilities for stimulation generation and presentation, stereographic presentation via computer allowing for assessment of a variety of types of memory processes.
Corey Freeman-Gallant in biology maintains a DNA fingerprinting laboratory in conjunction with his avian field research.
Hassan López directs a behavioral neuroscience laboratory, which contains a rodent vivarium (for housing of rats and mice), behavioral testing equipment for the analysis of sexual behavior and motivation, a wet-lab for preparation and delivery of pharmacological agents, and a separate human testing room for experiments on sexual attraction and desire.
Roy Meyers in biology maintains a laboratory equipped for cardiovascular, respiratory and electrophysiological recording from small animals, including small mammals, frogs and turtles and A/D physiological recording equipment for EEG and psychophysiologial measurements.'
Anita Miller in psychology directs a psychophysiology teaching laboratory. James Long Company hardware and software implement protocols for studying emotional startle modulation and related phenomena in human participants.
Flip Phillips in psychology directs an eye, brain and vision laboratory which includes facilities for real-time 3-D stimulus generation, stereographic presentation, and a wide variety of response measurement systems.
Bernard Possidente maintains a laboratory equipped for automated monitoring and analysis of up to 64 rodents in running wheels under controlled photoperiods for circadianrhythm analysis, and has eight "Actiwatches" for automated recording of human activity.
Monica Raveret-Richter maintains a small aviary, and an animal behavior lab with resident bee colonies, Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches, and other insects, Anolis lizards, and a variety of tropical fish; she also conducts field research on insects and birds.
Biology research is also supported by two walk-in cold rooms, two minus 80 degree Centigrade freezers, and an ultracentrifuge.
Teaching Laboratory Resources
The psychology department has recently constructed a new 800-square-foot neuroscience teaching laboratory to support laboratory instruction in NS 101, as well as lab instruction in other neuroscience courses (PS213 Hormones and Behavior, PS304 Physiological Psychology). The lab is equipped with seven computer-interfaced psychophysiological recording stations, neuroanatomical brain and spinal cord models, a computer-controlled multimedia projection system, sheep brain dissection equipment, and software for laboratory demonstrations and integration of information technology.
In the NS 101 course, for example, students participate in four main laboratories throughout the semester. In the first lab, they learn about functional neuroanatomy through dissections of sheep brains, disassembly of human brain models, and utilization of interactive neuroanatomy software. For the second laboratory, they use interactive computer simulation software to explore in detail the mechanisms underlying neural transmission. Specifically, they conduct experiments in which they manipulate certain variables (e.g., the temperature of the neuron, whether the axon is myelinated, the presence of anesthetic agents/toxins) and observe the effects on neural transmission. For the last two labs they learn how to make recordings of various bioelectric signals (galvanic skin responset GSR, electrocardiogram--ECG, and event-related potentialst ERPs) and study how these are associated with emotional and cognitive processes.
The psychology department also has a computer-based teaching lab, equipped with 12 Macintosh G3 266 computers with data acquisition and analysis software, dedicated to laboratory instruction for PS217 Statistical Methods in Psychology, PS306 Experimental Psychology and several other courses.
The six biology department faculty each maintain a 1200 square foot teaching laboratory dedicated to lab instruction in their respective courses. The physiology teaching lab in biology is equipped with five computerized physiological recording stations with Grass recorders linked to PowerLab A/D data collection hardware and software for neurophysiological monitoring (heart rate reflex regulation, EMG & GSR analysis & biofeedback, EEG recording & frequency analysis and evoked potentials) Linked with Grass AC & DC isolated preamps, extracellular nerve and cardiac action potential recording and analysis are also done). Biology lab instruction is also supported by DNA electrophoresis set-ups for lab sections of sixteen students, eight wireless laptop computers, 48 Wilde dissecting microscopes and 48 Nikon compound microscopes, two walk-in cold rooms, two minus 80 degree Centigrade freezers, an ultracentrifuge, two autoclaves, and mammalian tissue culture facilities. An existing laboratory will be renovated and equipped so serve as a histology facility over the summer.
Library Resources
The Scribner library has more than 300,000 monographs and 1,700 periodical subscriptions in its collection. Students and faculty have free access to the collection during the academic year and summers. Interlibrary loan service is also provided to students and faculty and full document delivery is available on other key items. The list is partial and not meant to be exhaustive.
Neuroscience Journals
The Scribner library currently subscribes to fourteen research journals specializing exclusively in neuroscience research (plus the Annual Review of Neuroscience):
Behavior and Brain Sciences
Behavioral and Neural Biology
Behavioral Ecology and Neuroscience
Brain and Language
Cognitive Neuropsychology
Developmental Psychobiology
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
Journal of Neurophysiology
Journal of Neuroscience
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Neurogenetics
Neuropsychology
Psychobiology
Trends in Neuroscience
Related Journals
The library also has current subscriptions to 34 additional journals with significant coverage of neuroscience research: (plus numerous annual volumes (e.g. the Annual Review of Physiology):
American Journal of Physiology
American Journal of Psychiatry
Animal Behaviour
Animal Learning and Behavior
Applied Cognitive Psychology
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Biological Rhythms Research
Chronobiology International
Comparative biochemistry and Physiology, Part. A:
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Consciousness and cognition
Hormones and Behavior
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Journal of Animal Behavior
Journal of Biological Rhythms
Journal of Cognitive Psychology
Journal of Comparative Physiology, A and B.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Learning and Memory
Memory and Cognition
Motivation and Emotion
Nature
Nature Medicine
Nature Genetics
Perception
Perception and Psychophysics
Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
Physiology & Behavior
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA
Psychophysiology
Psychiatry
Schizophrenia Bulletin
Science
Sleep
Trends in Cognitive Science
Assorted monographs
