Eric Roth

Biography

Eric Roth, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware. He is the director of the neuroscience major and the 4+1 accelerated B.S./M.S. program in neuroscience.

From mammals to reptiles, Roth uses a multidisciplinary approach integrating neuroscience and ecological techniques to address questions related to many aspects of animal behavior and cognition with an emphasis on spatial ecology. Where is an organism at a given point in time and why is it there? What navigation mechanisms are used to move from location to location? How is sensory information integrated and processed to influence spatial decision making, perception, learning, and memory? What biological, ecological, neurobiological, cognitive, and evolutionary factors interact to produce spatial behavior? More specifically, in relation to many of these potential factors recent research projects have focused on epigenetic influences, hippocampal place cells, brain lateralization, social interactions, home range properties, and neuro-ecological relationships.

Courses Regularly Taught

NSCI100: Psychological and Brain Sciences

PSYC100: General Psychology

PSYC207: Research Methods

PSYC314: Brain and Behavior

PSYC320: Intro to Neuroscience

Recent Publications

Roth, E.D., T.L. Roth, K.M. Money, S. SenGupta, D.E. Eason, and J.D. Sweatt. 2015. DNA methylation regulates neurophysiological spatial representation in memory formation. Neuroepigenetics. 2:1-8.

Blaze, J., E.D. Roth, and T.L. Roth. 2015. The contribution of genetics, epigenetics, and early-life experiences to behavior. In The New Cognitive Neurosciences V. Eds. Gazzaniga, M., Mangun, R. MIT Pess, pp145-152.

Roth, E.D. 2014. Chapter 2: The social lives of reptiles: Attraction, avoidance, and environmental influences. In: Social behavior: evolutionary pathways, environmental influences and impairments. Eds. Watson, P., Nova Publishers, pp47-70.

Monaco, J., G. Rao, E.D. Roth, and J.J. Knierim. 2014. Attentive Scanning Behavior Drives One-Trial Potentiation of Hippocampal Place Fields. Nature Neuroscience: 17, 725-731.

Matt, S., E.D. Roth, and T.L. Roth. 2014. Role of epigenetics in the brain. In Epigenetics in Psychiatry. Eds, Avramopoulos, D., Grayson, D.R., Peedicayil, J. Elsevier. pp79-99.

Roth, E.D. 2013. The interplay between social interactions, spatial behavior, and cognition in squamate reptiles. In: Social Interactions: evolution, psychology, and benefits. Eds. Aubert, A., Nova Publishers

Roth, E.D. 2013. Near the water’s edge: Cottonmouth Spatial Ecology, Behavior, Cognition and Neurobiology. In Reptiles in Research: Investigations of ecology, physiology, and behavior from Desert to Sea. Eds. Lutterschmidt, W.I., Nova Publishers

Roth, E.D., X. Yu, G. Rao, and J.J. Knierim. 2012. Functional differences in the backward shifts of CA1 and CA3 place fields in novel and familiar environments. PLoS ONE. 7:e36035

Roth, E.D. and W.I. Lutterschmidt. 2011. Experimental validation of sex differences in spatial behavior patterns of free ranging snakes: Implications for social interactions. Ethology. 117:852-858