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Faculty
-- Biopsychology Program Area
Bruce
B. Svare, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Office: Social Sciences 238
Phone: 518-442-4848
Fax: (518) 442-4867
EMail: svare@albany.edu
Research Lab:
Curriculum
Vitae (pdf format) |
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Research Areas of Interest
My research has made contributions to three major areas within the field of behavioral
neuroscience.
First, I have elucidated the behavioral and biological underpinnings of female
aggressive behavior. In particular, this work shows that the hormones estrogen
and progesterone are essential for promoting aggression in the pregnant female
mammal. This work also shows that suckling induced changes in the neuortransmitter
serotonin are important for facilitating aggressive behavior (called maternal
aggression) once a female has spent time nursing her young.
Second, I have explored the hormonal events that critical for sexual differentiation
in mammals. This work shows that natural hormone exposure in utero influences
a wide variety of behaviors in females including maternal responses and basic
regulatory behaviors such as feeding and body weight gain. This work also shows
that alterations in perinatal hormone events through stress or the injection
of supplementary hormones can have dramatic effects on sexually differentiated
behaviors in females.
Third, most recently I have been developing animal models
for assessing the addiction potential of performance-enhancing drugs such as
anabolic steroids. This work,
conducted in collaboration with Dr. Cheryl Frye and Dr. Robert Rosellini, shows
that the hedonic effects of abused anabolic steroids may be exerting their effects
through the nucleus acumbens of the brain. These effects may be operating through
non-genomic mechanisms such as GABA/benzodiazepine receptor complexes.
In addition to the execution of the basic research noted above, I have been active
in the field of sport psychology as both a researcher and a spokesperson for
the reform of sport in our culture. My work has included critical scholarly assessments
of youth, amateur, scholastic, and collegiate sports as well as active involvement
in the National Institute for Sports Reform (NISR) and the Drake Group (The National
Alliance of Faculty for Collegiate Athletic Reform). |
 Hormonal
Influences on Aggressive, Maternal, and Sexual
Behavior
Anabolic
Steroid Abuse
Sport
and Society |
Education
1976 Ph.D., Rutgers University
1973 M.A., Bucknell University
1971 B.A., Susquehanna University |
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