Department of Psychology

Dr. Matt Blankenship

Matt Blankenship, Ph.D.

Professor and Advisor for Neuroscience Minor

Education

Dr. Blankenship studied at Miami University, majoring in psychology and minoring in neuroscience. He received his Ph.D. at Indiana University as a double major in psychology and neural science. His dissertation was titled, “The Effects of Amygdala Lesions on Hippocampal Function and Eyeblink Conditioning in Rats.”

Teaching Areas

Dr. Blankenship teaches at all levels (100 to 400, including occasional graduate level classes). He enjoys teaching Physiological Psychology (PSY 343) and Principles in Neural Science (PSY 443), as well as major requirement classes, Introductory Psychology (PSY 100) and Statistical Methods and Research Design (PSY 223).

Research Interests

Dr. Blankenship’s research has always focused on the basic biological underpinnings of learning and memory. General research questions would include: “How do various anatomical structures in the brain participate in forming memories?” and “How do chemical signals in the brain participate in forming new memories?” More specifically, Dr. Blankenship and his students are studying the biological basis of Alzheimer’s disease and factors that potentially prevent the progression of the disease.

Recent Scholarly Activities

Oxytocin Antagonist (Atosiban) Enhances Freezing Behavior and Facilitates Fear Conditioning in Rats.  Blankenship, M. R., Taylor, B. C., Hamm, B, W., Lieving, D., Dunn, H. & Baldwin, R. th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois (April 2017).

Effects of the Adrenal Steroid Hormone DHEA on Spatial Learning in Prenatally Stressed Rats.  Maiman, M. L., Taylor, B. C., Wheatley, M. J., Hamm, B, W., Blankenship, M. R. Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois (May 2016).

The Neuroprotective Effects of Flupirtine on Beta-Amyloid Induced Memory Impairment. Jefferson, M., Smeltzer, S., McMillan, J.L., Henry, C.C., Klauser, B.M., Adolph, A.L., Kiebel, E.M., Martin, T.M. & Blankenship, M.R. Presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association in Chicago Illinois (May 2011).

Insulin-Induced Memory Facilitation and ADDL-Induced Memory Disruption. Blankenship, M.R., Devries, Smeltzer, S., Hemphill, L., Peterson, M., Love, S.& Crowley, Z. Presented at the 80th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association in Chicago Illinois (April 2010).

Alzheimer's-associated A-beta oligomers show altered structure, immunoreactivity and synaptotoxicity with low doses of oleocanthal. Pitt, J., Roth, W., Lacor, P., Blankenship, M., Velasco, P., De Felice, F., Breslin, P. & Klein W.L. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, E-publication in advance of print publication, July 22nd 2009.