Contact Information
267-519-4890
Stacie Miller
Postdoctoral Fellow
Education
PhD, Behavioral Neuroscience; Binghamton University
Research Summary
As a graduate student I studied olfactory exposure immediately after birth as a model for understanding the neurochemical mechanisms of odor learning. Although this early olfactory learning has implications for mother-infant bonding and nursing, odor learning is critical throughout the lifespan (e.g., detecting noxious gases). My current research focuses on how olfactory learning in adulthood can alter later odor sensitivity. For example, if a given odor predicts a dangerous situation it would be advantageous not only for the organism to avoid this odor but perhaps also for the olfactory system to become more tuned to this particular odor thereby increasing the chances of future odor detection. Using a fear conditioning model, I am testing the mechanisms that underlie plasticity of the olfactory system.
Keywords
smell, infants, children, development, fats, sweets, psychophysics, neuroscience, psychobiology, brain imaging
Recent Publications
Miller, S. S., & Spear, N. E. (2010). Mere odor exposure learning in the rat neonate immediately after birth and 1 day later. Developmental Psychobiology, 52, 343-351.
Miller, S. S., & Spear, N. E. (2009). Olfactory learning in the rat immediately after birth: unique salience of first odors. Developmental Psychobiology, 51, 488-504.
Miller, S. S., & Spear, N. E. (2008). Olfactory learning in the rat neonate soon after birth. Developmental Psychobiology, 50, 554-565.
