People > Graduate Students

Maria Carrillo
Graduate Student
Department of Psychology, 125-NI
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115 USA
(617) 373-3072 (office)
(617) 373-8714 (fax)
carrillo.m@husky.neu.edu

Advisor: Richard Melloni Jr.

Research

I am a first year graduate student in the experimental psychology Ph.D. program specializing in behavioral neuroscience. I am currently conducting research under the direction of Dr. Richard Melloni Jr. Our work explores the neurobiological mechanisms underlying anabolic androgenic steroid-induced aggressive behavior. My particular interests in the lab include investigating the contribution of the amino acid chemical messenger system glutamate. Specifically I am interested in examining how changes in glutamate-signaling in the anterior hypothalamus, observed in animals chronically treated throughout the developmental period of adolescence with anabolic androgenic steroids, affect the neurochemical modulation of offensive aggressive phenotypes. The laboratory techniques I am currently using to research glutamate receptor changes in the brain as a consequence of adolescent steroid exposure, include western blot protein assays, in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. In addition, I am also interested in the effects of pharmacological manipulations of the glutamate system on steroid-induced offensive behaviors as they are observed in our aggression paradigm.