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Dr. Daniel Montoya

Associate Professor
Fayetteville State University
1200 Murchison Rd.
 

Brief Biography:


I earned my Ph.D. from the National University of Cordoba, a 400 years old institution in Argentina, in 1998. My Thesis was the result of experimental work carried out in the Medical Research Institute Mercedes and Martin Ferreyra, one of the few centers dedicated to Neuroscience in Latin America. Two days after finishing my Ph.D., I took a plane to North Carolina to do Postdoctoral research at Duke University. Those three years in the Department of Psychiatry were one of the most fruitful. It also meant the grow of different research interests and collaborations, mostly revolving around learning and  memory. After that, I spend three years in the cold of  Bowling Green State University, in Ohio, always pursuing the elusive relationship between physiological process and memory. I'm currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, Fayetteville State University developiing new research lines involving cognition and robotics.

 

Academic positions:


Assistant Professor, Fayetteville State University. (July 1, 2005 - Present).

Instructor, Bowling Green State University. (December 2002 - June 30, 2005).

Research Assistant, Wake Forest University. (May 1, 2002 - December 1, 2002).

Research Assistant, Duke University - Dept. of Psychiatry. (September 9, 1998 - May 2002).

Research Assistant, Duke University - Dept. of Psychology. (September 2000 - February 2001).

Research Fellow, Research Council of Argentine Republic (CONICET)– Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martin Ferreyra. Cordoba, Argentina. (June 1993 - September 1998).


 

Research interests:


I’m interested in the study of the physiological mechanisms of learning and memory and I acquired my original research experience in neuroscience settings. My doctoral thesis explored the effects of estradiol on Long Term Potentiation (LTP - a physiological index of synaptic plasticity and learning and memory) using an in vivo, in vitroand behavioral approach. In all cases we were able to detect a positive influence of estradiol in the neural networks of ovariectomized rats, effects that were counteracted by progesterone injections. In subsequent research I addressed the effects of prenatal choline stimulation on LTP, in which we highlighted its protective effects and the role of NMDA receptor;  the sensitization effects of a neurosteroid in brains of adolescent rats chronically treated with alcohol; nicotine self administration in female rats and the modulation of LTP in the septo-hippocampal system. Recently, we developed a partnership with the laboratory of Dr. Luis Carretie of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain, involving joint publications and data sharing. The laboratory is interested in Evoked Related Potentials while I’m currently testing the possibilities afforded by a new wireless EEG system. 


 

What I think of the idea behind WebmedCentral:


I think it is a wonderfully and refreshing idea that needs to be tested. I have a great dissatisfaction with the way the publication system is organized and, frankly, the system needs to break free from the frustration and malice that it provokes. We already have enough stress in our institutions with increasing teaching load and decreasing student interest. Upon that we don't need to add uncivil reviewers and convoluted publising processes designed for an elite.

 

Home Page:


http://web.me.com/dmontoya/Daniel_Montoya_FSU/Welcome.html