SABA Experimental Fellowship Recipients
2011: Mary Sweeney (Utah State University)
As an undergraduate at Purdue University, with the guidance of Peter Urcuioli, Mary developed a senior thesis on reflexivity in pigeons that is now published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Mary was thrilled to be able to continue her education as a graduate student of Timothy Shahan at Utah State University. Specifically, her interests lie in developing mathematical models of behavior, studying animal models of substance abuse and relapse, and forming interdisciplinary collaborations between behavior analysis and other fields of science.
Her first project was working with Dr. Shahan to modify the existing behavioral momentum-based model of relapse to better account for the resurgence phenomenon in which alternative reinforcement is used to help eliminate an operant response. It fits existing data well, and in addition it raises important theoretical questions about reducing resurgence that have not yet been investigated empirically. A related professional goal is to be able to communicate the applied significance of basic research through skillful use and explanation of animal models of drug seeking. In order to accomplish this, Mary has developed the surgical, animal care, and project management skills necessary to conduct intravenous cocaine self-administration studies in rats. With the support of the SABA Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) Fellowship and her advisor, she is developing the technical skill and writing abilities that will be key in obtaining and maintaining a research faculty position after graduation.
In order to provide novel contributions to the field of EAB, Mary strives to be informed through interdisciplinary relationships. For example, she and Dr. Shahan are currently working with members of the Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences Department to develop animal models appropriate for examining cognitive deficits reported by survivors of viral encephalitis. Using the five-choice serial reaction time task, they will test attention, impulsivity, compulsivity, and motivation in hamsters that have survived West Nile Virus. If successful, this joint venture has the potential to open up a new vein of EAB that combines psychology and biology to study the behavioral consequences of infectious diseases.
Mary looks forward serving the science through these research paths, and she greatly appreciates the support provided by the SABA EAB fellowship.
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