I. Animal Behavior

PSYCH 16000
Evolution and Behavior
Aggression, sleep, learning, communication, emotion, motivation and social behavior in human and other species; underlying mechanisms, development, evolutionary history.

PSYCH 22500
Ethology: Animal Behavior
Adaptation, survival, reproduction and evolution of behavior, emphasizing development and species-comparison.

PSYCH 32000
Neuronal Basis of Behavior (Neuroethology)
This course is designed primarily for upper level undergraduates who already have an introductory background in animal behavior, neurobiology and Psychology. The course will review the rapidly expanding field of neuroethology, providing a general introduction to the subject and some of its many model systems.

PSYCH 32100
Animal Orientation: Function and Mechanisms
Finding mates, securing shelter and food, and returning to a familiar home are ubiquitous animal functions which often require complex navigational strategies. This course 1) explores historical attempts to develop an understanding of the role and determinants of these strategies, 2) reviews the complexity of orientation behavior across phyla mediated by simple taxes, landmark orientation, compass orientation, path integration and dead reckoning, and cognitive mapping, 3) discusses sensory control of orientation behavior, including multisensory integration, and sensory modality transposition, 4) reviews tools and models used by researchers of animal orientation, and 5) addresses physiological and molecular bases of selected behaviors. Laboratory exercises, field observations, visits to colleagues’ laboratories in the metropolitan area, and attending relevant seminars at other institutions (inside or outside CUNY) will complement class room lectures and discussions.

PSYCH 32400
Communication Behavior
This course will examine behaviors that exchange information, the evolution of the signals that carry the message, and the senses that receive it. Both human nonverbal and animal communication systems will be analyzed. Students will conduct field and library research on specific communicative behaviors.

PSYCH 38100
Current Topics in Animal Behavior
Finding mates, securing shelter and food, and returning to a familiar home are ubiquitous animal functions which often require complex navigational strategies. This course will provide an advanced undergraduate level survey of the history of the field of animal orientation, and expound on ontogeny, mechanisms, and function of orienting behaviors.

II. Physiological Psychology

PSYCH 18000
Brain and Behavior
Brain structure, function and relation to behavior. Topics include the neural basis of perception, learning and memory, consciousness, motivation, emotion.

PSYCH 22400
Neuroscience
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the biological and physiological aspect of the science of Psychology. Biopsychology is the subarea of Psychology that takes a biological approach to understanding behavior. Biopsychologists study the biological events - genetic, neural, endocrine- that underlie each and every one of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. This course will explore what is currently known about the biological basis of emotional responses, mental illness, sexual behavior, memory, states of consciousness, sensory perception, thought and language, and several neurological disorders.

PSYCH 30000
Physiological Psychology
Neural and endocrine mechanisms involved in learning, emotion, perception and other psychological processes.

PSYCH 30100
Sensation and Perception
Open to declared majors only. Methods, theories and empirical data relating to stimulus detection, encoding and perception as a function of variables including current stimuli and past history.

PSYCH 30900
Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
Research and attitudes about sex-related behavior in human and nonhuman animals emphasizing evolutionary and neuroendoinological processes and social-psychological processes; male-female differences and similarities, therapeutic strategy in sex-behavior pathology and sexual behavior and the law.

PSYCH 31600
Cognitive Neuroscience
The course will address some of the central issues in contemporary cognitive neuroscience, describe old (clinical studies) and new (brain imaging) sources of information, their limitations and their contributions to our understanding of the neural mechanisms of cognition.

PSYCH 32100
Animal Orientation: Function and Mechanisms
Finding mates, securing shelter and food, and returning to a familiar home are ubiquitous animal functions which often require complex navigational strategies. This course 1) explores historical attempts to develop an understanding of the role and determinants of these strategies, 2) reviews the complexity of orientation behavior across phyla mediated by simple taxes, landmark orientation, compass orientation, path integration and dead reckoning, and cognitive mapping, 3) discusses sensory control of orientation behavior, including multisensory integration, and sensory modality transposition, 4) reviews tools and models used by researchers of animal orientation, and 5) addresses physiological and molecular bases of selected behaviors. Laboratory exercises, field observations, visits to colleagues’ laboratories in the metropolitan area, and attending relevant seminars at other institutions (inside or outside CUNY) will complement class room lectures and discussions.

PSYCH 32700
Motivation and Emotion
The question of how behavior is initiated, maintained, directed and terminated. Human and non-human research evaluated.

PSYCH 36900
Behavioral Pharmacology
This course will provide information on the interrelationship of pharmacology and behavior. The relationship of licit, illicit and therapeutic drugs and their use and abuse will be explored in the context of their historical use and biological effects. Topics discussed include an overview of the nervous system, basic psychopharmacology, drug classification and specific drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, narcotics, marijuana, and psychotherapeutic agents.

PSYCH 38200
Current Topics in Biopsychology
Focuses on contemporary knowledge and issues in the scholarly literature in a focused area of biological psychology. Emphases are on interdisciplinary approaches and critical thinking, including links to theoretical, empirical, and applied foundations of the field. Topics vary each term.