Bernard A. Tarr
Graduate Student
- email : bat24@cornell.edu
- fax : 607-255-8433
- phone : 607-255-6398
- B103 Uris Hall
- Cornell University
- Ithaca NY 14853-7601
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Office Hours:
Interests
Using male Long-Evans rats as a model I previously studied the relationship between voluntary running and glutamate- and K+-stimulated dopamine release in the striatum (nucleus accumbens and caudate-putamen). Results: The average daily running distance was negatively correlated with K+-stimulated dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core and caudate-putamen, but not the nucleus accumbens shell. Conclusions: This suggests decreased depolarization-induced release of striatal dopamine may be a predictor of hyperactivity, and some individuals may display some of the neurochemical and behavioral characteristics of a rat model for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Currently I study spatial learning and memory in Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) - a scatter-hoarding bird. We have been studying the effect of captivity on the hippocampus in adult wild birds specifically. We have found that 6 weeks captivity causes a reduction in hippocampal volume of approximately 24%, but does not cause a reduction in size of the telencephalon, number, or density of new cells. We are currently studying the proximate nature and cause/s of hippocampal structural and functional change in adult wild food-storing birds as a result of captivity, to better understand the effects of stress, lack of hippocampal stimulation (food-storing), exercise and social-interaction on the hippocampus generally.
Behavior & Evolutionary Neuroscience
updated on Monday, Aug 9 2010 @ 5:03pm