Center for Behavioral Neuroscience: a prototype multi-institutional collaborative research center

Abstract

The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience was launched in the fall of 1999 with support from the National Science Foundation, the Georgia Research Alliance, and our eight participating institutions (Georgia State University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Clark-Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College). The CBN provides the resources to foster innovative research in behavioral neuroscience, with a specific focus on the neurobiology of social behavior. Center faculty working in collaboratories use diverse model systems from invertebrates to humans to investigate fear, aggression, affiliation, and reproductive behaviors. The addition of new research foci in reward and reinforcement, memory and cognition, and sex differences has expanded the potential for collaborations among Center investigators. Technology core laboratories develop the molecular, cellular, systems, behavioral, and imaging tools essential for investigating how the brain influences complex social behavior and, in turn, how social experience influences brain function. In addition to scientific discovery, a major goal of the CBN is to train the next generation of behavioral neuroscientists and to increase the number of women and under-represented minorities in neuroscience. Educational programs are offered for K-12 students to spark an interest in science. Undergraduate and graduate initiatives encourage students to participate in interdisciplinary and inter-institutional programs, while postdoctoral programs provide a bridge between laboratories and allow the interdisciplinary research and educational ventures to flourish. Finally, the CBN is committed to knowledge transfer, partnering with community organizations to bring neuroscience to the public. This multifaceted approach through research, education, and knowledge transfer will have a major impact on how we study interactions between the brain and behavior, as well as how the public views brain function and neuroscience.

Figure 1

Organizational Chart of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience.