Dr. Brian Hock
Brian Hock, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Undergraduate Coordinator
Psychology Department
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN 37044
Office: 223E Clement Hall
Phone: (931) 221-1045
Fax: (931) 221-6267
Email: hockb@apsu.edu
I am originally from Michigan and completed my Bachelor’s at Lake Superior State University. I then moved down to Ohio to attend Kent State University, where I completed my Master’s and Ph.D. working on the role of the ventral hippocampus in learning and memory. I also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in the Department of Genetics studying the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease using mouse models.
I joined the faculty at APSU starting in the fall of 2005. I teach General Psychology, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Research Methods, Applied Psychopharmacology, Physiological Psychology and Learning and Motivation.
When I am not “working” I enjoy spending time with my family, being outdoors either hiking, scuba diving, hunting or volunteering at Walden’s Puddle, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Joelton, TN. I am also a fan of the Cleveland Browns, which occupies the rest of my free time.
Research Interests
My current research interests involve investigating novel methods of behaviorally measuring addiction in rodents. Recent findings from our lab (Miller, Littlejohn Diaz, & Hock, 2008) suggest that using a drug of addiction (i.e. caffeine) paired with a substance (apple juice) that previously made a rat sick, will not prevent the rat from still consuming that mixture, even though the apple juice previously made them ill. This concept relies on the principle of Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA) or the Garcia effect, aptly named after John Garcia, who discovered the method. One significant advantage to using CTA to measure addiction in animals is that it can be used to investigate the 7th criteria of the DSM-IV-TR’s definition of dependency, continued use of the drug despite adverse effects. This is important to the field of psychopharmacology as it provides an additional measure for researchers to use, especially when tolerance and withdrawal effects are most measured.
Publications and Presentations
Conference Abstracts with Students
Miller*, K., Littlejohn Diaz*, J. & Hock, B.J. (2009). The role of the ventral hippocampus in learning and memory. Fourth Annual Research Forum, APSU, p. 4.
Schmidt, C.J., Schmidt*, R.J. & Hock, B.J. (2008). A novel behavioral paradigm to measure addiction in rats. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, 38.
Petriello*, M.C., Hock, B.J. and Lamb, B.T. (2003). Learning and memory impairments between different mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. The Second Annual Senior Capstone Fair, Case Western Reserve University
Hock, B.J., Price*, B., & Bunsey, M.D. (1999). The role of the ventral hippocampus in learning and memory. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, Vol. 29.
Selected Publications
Schmidt, C.J., Schmidt*, R.J. & Hock, B.J. (2008). A novel behavioral paradigm to measure addiction in rats. Journal of Behavioral and Neuroscience Research, 6 (Fall), 15-22.
Hock, B.J., Lattal, K.M., Shapiro Kulnane, L., Abel, T. & Lamb, B.T. (Submitted). Pathology dependent and independent memory deficits in yeast artificial chromosome amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice.
Hock, Shapiro Kulnane*, L., Lehman, E.J.H., Hock, B.J., Tsuchiya, K.D. & Lamb, B.T. (2002). Rapid and Efficient Detection of Transgene Homozygosity by FISH of Mouse Fibroblasts. Mammalian Genetics, 13(4), 223-226.
Hock, B.J. & Lamb, B.T. (2001). Transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's Disease. Trends in Genetics, 17(10): S7-S12.
Hock, B.J. & Bunsey, M.D. (1998). Differential effects of dorsal and ventral hippocampal lesions. Journal of Neuroscience, 18(17): 7027-7032.
*Denotes undergraduate students