Jessica Verpeut
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Mail code: 1104Campus: Tempe
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Jessica Verpeut is an Assistant Professor in the behavioral neuroscience program in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on the influence of cerebellar activity during development on neocortical structure, social and flexible behavior utilizing whole-brain imaging and unsupervised behavior classification in rodent models. The ultimate goal of her research program is to understand how the brain develops to produce typical behavior. The cerebellum has highly conserved neural architecture and circuitry with distal connections to known motor, cognitive, and social regions. Pediatric injury of the cerebellum is highly associated with neural developmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Understanding how the cerebellum fine-tunes neural development is essential to providing better diagnostic criteria and outcomes for individuals with neural developmental disorders.
Dr. Verpeut received her undergraduate degree in animal science and psychology from Pennsylvania State University and her doctoral degree in endocrinology and animal biosciences at Rutgers University. As a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the New Jersey Brain Injury Research Committee, Jessica developed a chemogenetic cerebellar model of autism and mapped cerebello-cortical connections that contribute to flexible behavior.
- Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Princeton University 2015-2020
- Ph.D. Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences, Rutgers University 2015
- B.S. Psychology, Pennsylvania State University 2010
- B.S. Animal Science, Pennsylvania State University 2010
My lab studies how the cerebellum modulates social and flexible behavior during specific developmental periods. Abnormal cerebellar development is highly linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, namely autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and connects in a multisynaptic pathway to cognitive and social brain regions. In an attempt to understand these connections my lab takes a whole-brain approach using tissue clearing and light sheet microscopy. We ask whether these pathways and distal connected brain regions are altered through early-life perturbations through optogenetics and chemogenetic mechanisms. Furthermore, if an early-life injury to the cerebellum alters distal brain regions through epigenetic mechanisms. As the cerebellum is the key structure for interpreting sensory input, my lab will study freely-moving animal behavior using machine learning and automated behavior classification.
We are hiring for various positions. Please contact for details..
Courses
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
PSY 792 | Research |
PSY 592 | Research |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
NEU 325 | Biopsychology |
NEU 492 | Honors Directed Study |
NEU 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
PSY 592 | Research |
PSY 592 | Research |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
PSY 599 | Thesis |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
PSY 592 | Research |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
PSY 592 | Research |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
PSY 599 | Thesis |
NEU 494 | Special Topics |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
PSY 592 | Research |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
NEU 591 | Seminar |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
PSY 592 | Research |
PSY 591 | Seminar |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
PSY 591 | Seminar |
PSY 400 | Topics in Neuroscience |
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, NJ Commission on Brain Injury Research 2016-2019
- Alltech Young Scientist Award, Alltech 2014
- The Animal Science Graduate Student Scholarship, Rutgers University 2011
Guest editor for JoVE Methods Collection: "Current methods for determining the role of climbing fibers in cerebellar function"
2023- present Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience 2015- present Society for Neuroscience