Saint Michael's student Samantha Giglio of Albany presents research at Eastern Psychological Association meetings in New York

2013 Mar 6

Samantha Giglio, daughter of James and Lori Giglio of Albany, presented her research at a psychology conference last weekend. Giglio a senior psychology and sociology double major graduated from Academy of the Holy Names before coming to Saint Michael's College, one of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the country.

Saint Michael's College psychology professor, Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum, and four of his students presented research designed to help uncover new treatments for tobacco-dependence, at the Eastern Psychological Association annual meetings March 1-4 at the Marquis Marriott in New York City.

"Going to a conference exposes our psychology students to the great diversity of behavioral research in the social sciences," Professor Kirshenbaum said. "They can see the importance of their research in the wider world of scientific understanding, and they develop ease and competence with the subject matter that helps them present their research to others outside of the college."

"Many students have been introduced to their future graduate-school mentors at these conferences," Professor Kirshenbaum said.

The students and their scientific presentations are

Michael Fay, a senior psychology major from Yorktown Heights, NY: "Nicotine-Induced amotivation: A result of conditioned inhibition?"

Samantha Giglio, a senior psychology major from Albany, NY: "Social hierarchy and PR performance in rats: Effects of psychomotor stimulants on motivated behavior"

Mallory Hyland, a senior psychology major from North Kingston, RI: "Evidence of cholinergic memory enhancement from tickle-induce conditioned place preference"

Tessa Roy, a junior psychology major from Ft. Belvoir, VA: "Nicotine induced amotivation is related to nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor activation"

Professor Kirshenbaum described their research this way:

Our lab has discovered that after only very limited experience with nicotine, rats become unmotivated by food rewards that normally serve as powerful incentives. During tobacco withdrawal, the emotional symptoms such as depression and anxiety are powerful precipitators of tobacco-use relapse in human smokers, and we believe that our rat model is analogous to these emotional symptoms of withdrawal. Our laboratory research is focused on the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms that contribute to nicotine-induced motivational impairments in an attempt to uncover new opportunities for tobacco-dependence treatment.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review, 2013 as one of the nation's Best 377 Colleges, and included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report rankings.