Behavioral Neuroscience Research Lab

Principal Investigator:  Ethan Gahtan

Professor of Psychology, Adjunct Professor of Biology

Functional architecture of neural circuits, neuroethology, behavioral genetics, cellular mechanisms of neurological disease, evolutionary psychology.

Curriculum Vitae

Contact

Ethan Gahtan
eg51@humboldt.edu
Office: BSS 428

Some Lab Alumni

Undergrad RA's and their post-graduation moves

• Maggie Baker, Doctoral program in molecular biology, Johns Hopkins University
• Aaron DeWald, University of South Dakota Medical School
• Elizabeth Gould, Doctoral program in Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Denver
• Kevin Simonson, Joint MD/MBA program, University of California, Irvine
• Lisa Voelker, Doctoral program in Neurobiology, University of Washington
• Masha Melnick, Doctoral program in Biology, University of California, San Diego
• Sarah Wood, Doctoral program in Psychology, Florida State University
• Ellyn Bass, Doctoral program in Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha
• Samantha Sheldon , Doctoral program in Neuroscience, Boston University
• Allen Chen, Masters of Science program in Human Factors at Cal State Long Beach
• Tori Shen, UCSD Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research
• Neha Arora, CIRM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) scholar, Stanford University

Master’s students and their post-MA moves

• Brian Griffiths, Doctoral program in Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston
• Nathan Helm-Burger, Doctoral program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University
• Sarah Stednitz, Doctoral program in Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene
• Kristen Gallander, Doctoral program in Zoology at the University of British Columbia
• Briana Freshner, Research technician, Division of Neurology, University of Utah School of Medicine
• Trevor Caudle, Clinical Research Coordinator in Dr. Amit Etkin's lab, Stanford University school of medicine
• Benjamin Bishop, Chemistry Lab Specialist, Monterey Peninsula College
• Michael Stobb (Mathematics MS supervised by Prof Bori Mazzag), Doctoral program in Mathematics, University of California, Merced

Selected Publications

• Gahtan, E., Jones, S., & Wilcox, E. (2023). Parenthood and Concerns for the Distant Future. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4542417
• Lapolla, N. J., Bishop, B. H., & Gahtan, E. (2023). Social context modulates autonomic responses to direct eye contact. Physiology & behavior, 263, 114119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114119,
• Jones E.F., Butler M.G., Trendafilova D., Mendez M.S., Jernigan L.A., Gahtan E., & Steele J. (2022) In vivo tracking of KCC2b expression during early brain development. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 531(1):48-57. https//doi.org//10.1002/cne.25411,
• Bishop, B. H., Spence-Chorman, N., & Gahtan, E. (2016). Three-dimensional motion tracking reveals a diving component to visual and auditory escape swims in zebrafish larvae. The Journal of experimental biology, 219(Pt 24), 3981–3987. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.147124,
• Stednitz, S. J., Freshner, B., Shelton, S., Shen, T., Black, D., & Gahtan, E. (2015). Selective toxicity of L-DOPA to dopamine transporter-expressing neurons and locomotor behavior in zebrafish larvae. Neurotoxicology and teratology, 52(Pt A), 51–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2015.11.001,
• Bass, E. C., Stednitz, S. J., Simonson, K., Shen, T., & Gahtan, E. (2014). Physiological stress reactivity and empathy following social exclusion: a test of the defensive emotional analgesia hypothesis. Social neuroscience, 9(5), 504–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2014.929533,
• Griffiths, B. B., Schoonheim, P. J., Ziv, L., Voelker, L., Baier, H., & Gahtan, E. (2012). A zebrafish model of glucocorticoid resistance shows serotonergic modulation of the stress response. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 6, 68. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2012.00068,
• Stobb, M., Peterson, J.M., Mazzag, B., Gahtan, E. (2012). Graph theoretical model of a sensorimotorconnectome in zebrafish. PLoS One, 7(5):e37292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.oo37292.