Robert S. Astur

Associate Professor

Psychological Sciences

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Education

Ph.D., 2002, Yale University

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Research Interests

Robert’s training is in the memory of neurobiology with an emphasis on the hippocampus and amygdala. He’s worked with rodents, monkeys, apes, and humans, and uses tasks that are highly translational. He’s currently working to examine which individuals are at risk for developing anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and depression while establishing interventions to help those who are at risk or already have a specific disorder. His interests also consist of:

• Hippocampal memory
• Virtual Reality testing of complex behaviors
• Spatial memory and development
• Gender differences
• Substance Abuse
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Techniques for building psychological resiliency in at-risk populations

Research Websites

• Research Gate
• Astur Lab

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Publications

Representative 

Folley. B.S., Astur, R.S., Jagannathan, K., Calhoun, V.D., Pearlson, G.D. (2010). Anomalous neural circuit function in schizophrenia during a virtual Morris water task.  Neuroimage, 49(4), 3373-84.

Shipman, S., & Astur, R. (2008). Factors affecting the hippocampal BOLD response during spatial memory. Behavioural Brain Research, 187(2), 433-441.

Newhouse, P., Newhouse, C., & Astur, R. (2007). Sex differences in visual-spatial learning using a virtual water maze in pre-pubertal children. Behavioural Brain Research, 183(1), 1-7.

Kurtz, M., Baker, E., Pearlson, G., & Astur, R. (2007). A virtual reality apartment as a measure of medication management skills in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33(5), 1162-1170.

Levy, LA, Astur, R.S., Frick, KM.  (2005)  Men and women differ in object memory but not performance of a virtual radial maze.  Behavioral Neuroscience, 119(4), 853-62.

Rowland, LM., Astur, R.S., Jung, RE., Bustillo, JR., Lauriello, J., Yeo, RA.  (2005).  Selective Cognitive Impairments Associated with NMDA Receptor Blockade in Humans.  Neuropsychopharmacology, 30(3), 633-9.

Astur, R.S., Tropp, J., Sava, S., Constable, R.T., & Markus, E.T. (2004). Sex differences in a virtual Morris water task and a virtual eight-arm maze. Behavioural Brain Research,151(1-2):103-15.