People > Faculty

James R. Stellar
Professor and Dean of the College
100 Meserve
(617) 373-5173 (office)
(617) 373-2942 (fax)
j.stellar@neu.edu

• See curriculum vitae (pdf)
• Visit Stellar Neuroscience Lab

Research

My laboratory studies brain circuits that underlie the basic processes of reward and motivation in the laboratory rat. We use techniques that are anatomical (e.g. immunohistochemistry, excitotoxic lesion), behavioral (e.g. brain stimulation reward, intravenous cocaine self-administration) and pharmacological (e.g. brain microinfusion and systemic treatement) to reveal findings that we hope are related to human drug addiction and other problems of human emotional function. We are particularly interested in the nucleus accumbens, its division into core and shell regions, and its potential further division into subregions of the shell, as they help to elucidate the circuits that underlie behavior. 

Frequently Taught Courses

I am unable to teach regularly due to my administrative position.