Erin B. Rasmussen, Ph.D.

Summary: Dr. Rasmussen’s research interests are broadly in the area of behavioral economics and behavioral pharmacology. Specifically, she has two laboratories (animal and human) that are dedicated to examining behavioral economic and neural correlates of behaviors and decision-making involved in obesity. Her animal work is centered around how endocannabinoid, dopaminergic, and opioid neurotransmitter systems affect the value of food and exercise reinforcement in genetic and environmental rodent models of obesity.  Her human work focuses on behavioral economic factors related to food-based decision-making related to obesity.  Click here to see her recent publications.

Minimum Classes: A Research Methods and Statistics course; Learning and Behavior and Psychopharmacology preferred, but not required

Projects: We have behavioral pharmacological projects with rats exposed to high-fat diets in which we identify specific neurotransmitters systems that are involved with diet-altered sensitivity to food reward; we also have human projects in which we examine behavioral economic factors that change impulsive choice for food. I also have a human data set that needs secondary analysis for some interesting questions related to obesity and impulsive choice.