Richmond R. Thompson
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Spring 2008
- Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Neuroscience (NEURO 402)
- Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Neuroscience (NEURO 404)
- Physiological Psychology (PSYC 218)
- Laboratory in Behavioral Neuroscience: Social Behavior (PSYC 275)
| Phone | (207) 725-3544 |
| Title | Associate Professor |
| Department | PSYCHOLOGY |
| 2nd Title | Associate Professor |
| 2nd Department | NEUROSCIENCE |
| Work Location | 216 Kanbar Hall |
| rthompso@bowdoin.edu |
Professor Thompson's Lab Page »
Education
BS, 1989, Furman University (Biology / Psychology double major)
PhD, 1996 Cornell University (Biopsychology)
Postdoctoral Experience: Zoology Dept, Oregon State, 1996-1999
Research Interests:
My research focuses on how the brain processes social stimuli and on how it uses that information to organize behavioral output, especially emotional interactions between individuals. In particular, I am interested in the effects of sex steroids on brain structures that process social signals and that organize sexual and aggressive behaviors and in the role that neuropeptide brain circuits play in the modulation of social behavior. I have worked with several avian species (Japanese quail, zebra finches), an amphibian (roughskin newts), a teleost fish (goldfish) and a mammal (humans). I have used this comparative approach because I believe it is necessary to study species from a wide range of vertebrate groups in order to fully understand the general, mechanistic principles associated with the regulation of social behavior in vertebrates, as well as to appreciate how specializations of those fundamental systems have made species-specific patterns of social behavior possible in different organisms, including humans. I also use many different tools to answer these questions, including behavioral, neuroanatomical and molecular techniques.
Sources of Funding:
Courses Taught:
Introductory Psychology (Psych 101)
Phsyiological Psychology (Psych 218)
Laboratory in Behavioral Neuroscience: Social Behavior (Psyc 275 formerly Techniques in Behavioral Neuroscience
Hormones and Behavior (Psych 215)
Comparative Neuroanatomy (Psych 216)
Other Interests:
Fly fishing, motorcycle riding, Siberian Huskies
Favorite Authors:
Mary Oliver, Earnest Hemingway
Publications
Thompson R.R., George K, Walton JC, Orr SP, Benson J., Sex-specific influences of vasopressin on human social communication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. 2006 May 16;103(20):7889-94.
Abstract »
Thompson, R.R., George, K.,* Dempsey, J.,* & Walton, J.E. (2004) Visual sex discrimination in goldfish: seasonal, sexual and androgenic influences. Hormones and Behavior 2004 Dec;46(5):646-54.
Abstract »
Thompson, R.R. & Walton, J.C. 2004. Peptide effects on social behavior: the effects of vasotocin and isotocin on social approach behavior in male goldfish. Behavioral Neuroscience, 118(3), 620-626.
Thompson, R.R., Gupta, S.,* Miller, K., Mills, S., & Orr, S. 2004. Vasopressin effects on facial responses related to social communication in human males. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 35-48.
Thompson, R.R. & Moore, F.L. 2003 The effects of testosterone and vasotocin on behavioral responses to visual and olfactory female sexual stimuli in ovariectomized female roughskin newts. Hormones and Behavior, 44, 311-318.
Thompson, R.R. & George, K.* 2003. Testing the relationship between endogenous testosterone and physiological responses to facial stimuli in human males: an experiment conducted in an undergraduate behavioral neuroscience laboratory course. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Research, 1.
Thompson, R. & Moore, F. 2000. Vasotocin stimulates appetitive behavioral responses to the visual and olfactory stimuli used by male roughskin newts during courtship. Hormones and Behavior, 38, 75-85..
Thompson, R.R., Tokar, Z.,* Pistohl, D.* & Moore, F.L. 1999. Behavioral evidence for a sex-pheremone in roughskin newts, Taricha granulosa. In Advances in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, ed. By R.E. Johnston, D. Muller-Schwartze, and P. Sorenson, pp 421-430, Plenum Press, New York.
Thompson, R.R., Goodson, J.L., Ruscio, M.G. & Adkins-Regan, E. 1998. Role of the archistriatal nucleus taeniae in the sexual behavior of male Japanese quail, (Coturnix japonica) : a comparison of function with the medial nucleus of the amygdala in mammals. Brain Behav. Evol., 51, 215-229.
Adkins-Regan, E., Mansukani, V., Thompson, R. & Yang, S. 1997. Organizational effects of sex hormones on sexual partner preferences in zebra finches. Brain Res. Bull., 44(4), 497-502.
Goodson, J.L., Eibach, R., Dukes, A., Friedman, M. Sakata, J., Thompson, R.R. & Adkins-Regan E. 1997. Neurobiology of social organization. Effects of lateral septum lesions in a territorial songbird, the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla), and a colonial songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 807, 518-521.
Thompson, R.R., & Adkins-Regan, E. 1994. Photoperiod affects the morphology of a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area of Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica. Brain Res., 667, 201-208.
Adkins-Regan, E., Mansukani, V., Seiwert, C. & Thompson, R. 1994. Sexual differentiation of brain and behavior in zebra finches. J Neurobiology, 15, 868-877.
Thompson, R.R. & Adkins-Regan, E. 1992. Development of a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic area of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Dev. Brain Res., 70, 331-337.