Publications
Selected publications from the Human Behavioral Neuroscience Lab
2026–2020
2026
Mannam, P., Vazquez, M., Mittelman, D., Knapp, E., Carpenter, W., Lambert, W., Koenig, K., Astur, R., Zempsky, W., & Lee, M. Implementation of virtual reality for postoperative recovery in an adolescent idiopathic scoliosis population: A prospective pilot study. Pediatric Neurosurgery.
2025
Sklenarik, S. M., Burrows, C. N., & Astur, R. S. Nicotine-induced conditioned place preferences in humans. Behavioural Brain Research.
2025
Sklenarik, S. M., Burrows, C. N., & Astur, R. S. Conditioned place preferences for virtual reality cannabis cues. Behavioral Neuroscience.
2024
Sklenarik, S., Potenza, M. N., & Astur, R. S. Avoidance biases for vaping stimuli among college students with electronic-cigarette use. Addictive Behaviors, 151, 107934.
2023
Sklenarik, S. M., Burrows, C. N., & Astur, R. S. Conditioned place preferences for virtual alcohol cues. Behavioural Brain Research, 438, 114176.
2022
Palmisano, A. N., Gould, T. J., & Astur, R. S. The effect of acute nicotine administration on human delay cued and context fear conditioning. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
2022
Sklenarik, S., Potenza, M. N., & Astur, R. S. Avoidance tendencies toward cannabis stimuli in a college sample. Journal of Addictive Diseases.
2022
Patel, S. A., Frick, K. M., Newhouse, P. A., & Astur, R. S. Estradiol effects on spatial memory in women. Behavioural Brain Research, 417, 113592.
2020
Palmisano, A. N., & Astur, R. S. Nicotine facilitation of conditioned place preference to food reward in humans. Substance Use & Misuse, 55(13), 2156–2164.
2020
Flayelle, M., Castro-Calvo, J., Vögele, C., Astur, R. S., …, & Billieux, J. Towards a cross-cultural assessment of binge-watching: Psychometric evaluation of the Watching TV Series Motives and Binge-Watching Engagement and Symptoms questionnaires across nine languages. Computers in Human Behavior.
2020
Sklenarik, S., Potenza, M. N., Gola, M., & Astur, R. S. Approach bias for erotic stimuli among heterosexual female college students who use pornography. Addictive Behaviors, 108, 106438.
2019–2015
2019
Assudani Patel, S., McQuade, C., & Astur, R. S. Influence of contraceptive use on cognition in women. In K. M. Frick (Ed.), Estrogens and Memory: Basic Research and Clinical Implications. Oxford University Press.
2019
Sklenarik, S. M., Potenza, M. N., Gola, M., Kor, A., Kraus, S. W., & Astur, R. S. Approach bias for erotic stimuli in heterosexual male college students who use pornography. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(2), 234–241.
2019
Banz, B. C., Worhunsky, P. D., Pittman, B. P., Astur, R. S., Tennen, H. A., Raskin, S. A., Austad, C. S., Wood, R. M., Fallahi, C. R., Potenza, M. N., & Pearlson, G. D. The relationship between drinking quantity and frequency, and BOLD response during virtual Morris water task performance in college students. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
2019
Choi, J., Taylor, B., Fiszdon, J., Astur, R. S., Haber, L., Shagan, D., Pearlson, G., and colleagues. Combining exercise physiology, recreational therapy, virtual reality gaming technology, and psychosocial rehabilitation to promote physical exercise in serious mental illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 45(Supplement 2), S139–S140.
2019
Tucker, A., Marsh, K. L., Gifford, T., Lu, X., Luh, P. B., & Astur, R. S. The effects of information and hazard on evacuee behavior in virtual reality. Fire Safety Journal.
2018
Palmisano, A. N., Hudd, E. C., McQuade, C. M., de Wit, H., & Astur, R. S. The effects of nicotine on conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement in humans. Addictive Behaviors, 77, 51–58.
2017
Childs, E., Astur, R. S., & de Wit, H. Virtual reality conditioned place preference using monetary reward. Behavioural Brain Research, 322, 110–114.
2016
Lu, X., Luh, P., Tucker, A., Gifford, T., Astur, R. S., & Olderman, N. Impacts of anxiety in building fire and smoke evacuation: Modeling and validation. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
2016
Astur, R. S., Purton, A. J., Zaniewski, M. J., Cimadevilla, J., & Markus, E. J. Human sex differences in solving a virtual reality problem. Behavioural Brain Research, 308, 236–243.
2016
Astur, R. S., Carew, A. W., Palmisano, A., Deaton, B. E., Kuhney, F., Niezrecki, R., & Santos, M. Cravings in a virtual reality room paired with chocolate predict eating disorder risk. International Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 9(3), 9–19.
2015
Astur, R. S., Palmisano, A. N., Carew, A. W., Deaton, B. E., Kuhney, F., Niezrecki, R., Hudd, E., Mendicino, K. L., & Ritter, C. Human conditioned place preferences using a secondary reinforcer. Behavioural Brain Research, 297, 15–19.
2015
Astur, R. S., Carew, A. W., Palmisano, A., Deaton, B. E., Kuhney, F., Niezrecki, R., & Santos, M. Cravings in a virtual reality room paired with chocolate predict eating disorder risk. In Technology, Rehabilitation, and Empowerment of People with Special Needs. Nova Publishers.
2015
Astur, R. S., Palmisano, A., Hudd, E. C., Carew, A. W., Deaton, B. E., Kuhney, F., Niezrecki, R., & Santos, M. Pavlovian conditioning to food reward as a function of eating disorder risk. Behavioural Brain Research, 291, 277–282.
2014–2005
2014
Astur, R. S., Carew, A. W., Palmisano, A., Deaton, B. E., Kuhney, F., Niezrecki, R., & Santos, M. Cravings in a virtual reality room paired with chocolate predict eating disorder risk. Proceedings of the International Conference Series on Disability, Virtual Reality and Associated Technologies.
2014
Astur, R. S., Carew, A. W., & Deaton, B. E. Conditioned place preferences in humans using virtual reality. Behavioural Brain Research, 267, 173–177.
2013
Newhouse, P., Albert, K., Astur, R. S., Johnson, J., Naylor, M., & Dumas, J. Tamoxifen improves cholinergically-modulated cognitive performance in postmenopausal women. Neuropsychopharmacology, 38(13), 2632–2643.
2013
Spieker, E. A., Griego, J. A., Astur, R. S., Holcomb, H., & Rowland, L. M. Facilitation of relational learning in schizophrenia. Behavioral Sciences, 3(2), 206–216.
2012
Spieker, E. A., Astur, R. S., West, J. T., Griego, J. A., & Rowland, L. M. Spatial memory deficits in a virtual reality eight-arm radial maze in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 135(1–3), 84–89.
2011
Astur, R. S., Keller, M. W., & Reini, S. A. Can you handle the stress: Testing to predict submariner performance in high stress situations. The Submarine Review, 3, 121–128.
2010
Folley, B. S., Astur, R. S., Jagannathan, K., Calhoun, V. D., & Pearlson, G. D. Anomalous neural circuit function in schizophrenia during a virtual Morris water task. NeuroImage, 49(4), 3373–3384.
2010
Rzepecki-Smith, C. I., Meda, S. A., Calhoun, V. D., Stevens, M. C., Jafri, M. J., Astur, R. S., & Pearlson, G. D. Disruptions in functional network connectivity during alcohol-intoxicated driving. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34(3), 479–487.
2009
Shipman, S. L., Baker, E. K., Pearlson, G. D., & Astur, R. S. Absence of established sex differences in patients with schizophrenia on a 2-dimensional object array task. Psychiatry Research, 166(2), 158–165.
2009
Canovas, R., Leon, I., Roldan, M. D., Astur, R. S., & Cimadevilla, J. M. Virtual reality tasks disclose spatial memory alterations in fibromyalgia. Rheumatology, 48(10), 1273–1278.
2009
Allen, A. J., Meda, S. A., Astur, R. S., Calhoun, V. D., Ruopp, K. C., & Pearlson, G. D. Effects of alcohol on performance on a visual oddball task during simulated driving. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33(4), 617–625.
2009
Meda, S. A., Calhoun, V. D., Astur, R. S., Turner, B. M., Ruopp, K., & Pearlson, G. D. Alcohol dose effects on brain circuits during simulated driving: An fMRI study. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 1257–1270.
2008
Meda, S. A., Bhattarai, M., Morris, N. A., Kuzu, C. H., Astur, R. S., Calhoun, V. D., Mathalon, D. H., Kiehl, K. A., & Pearlson, G. D. An fMRI study of working memory in first-degree unaffected relatives of schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenia Research, 104, 85–95.
2008
Shipman, S., & Astur, R. Factors affecting the hippocampal BOLD response during spatial memory. Behavioural Brain Research, 187(2), 433–441.
2007
Newhouse, P., Newhouse, C., & Astur, R. Sex differences in visual-spatial learning using a virtual water maze in pre-pubertal children. Behavioural Brain Research, 183(1), 1–7.
2007
Kurtz, M., Baker, E., Pearlson, G., & Astur, R. A virtual reality apartment as a measure of medication management skills in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 33(5), 1162–1170.
2007
Most, S., & Astur, R. Feature-based attentional set as a cause of traffic accidents. Visual Cognition, 15(2), 125–132.
2006
Johnson, M., Morris, N., Astur, R., Calhoun, V., Mathalon, D., Kiehl, K., & Pearlson, G. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of working memory abnormalities in schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry, 60(1), 11–21.
2006
Baker, E., Kurtz, M., & Astur, R. Virtual reality assessment of medication compliance in patients with schizophrenia. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(2), 224–229.
2006
Calhoun, V., Adali, T., Kiehl, K., Astur, R., Pekar, J., & Pearlson, G. A method for multitask fMRI data fusion applied to schizophrenia. Human Brain Mapping, 27(7), 598–610.
2006
Astur, R., Germain, S., Tolin, D., Ford, J., Russell, D., & Stevens, M. Hippocampus function predicts severity of post-traumatic stress disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(2), 234–240.
2006
Carvalho, K. N., Pearlson, G. D., Astur, R. S., & Calhoun, V. D. Simulated driving and brain imaging: Combining behavior, brain activity, and virtual reality. CNS Spectrums, 11(1), 52–62.
2005
Calhoun, V., Carvalho, K., Astur, R., & Pearlson, G. Using virtual reality to study alcohol intoxication effects on the neural correlates of simulated driving. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 30(3), 285–306.
2005
Astur, R. S., St. Germain, S. A., Baker, E. K., Calhoun, V. D., Pearlson, G. D., & Constable, R. T. fMRI hippocampal activity during a virtual radial arm maze. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 30(3), 307–317.
2005
Levy, L. A., Astur, R. S., & Frick, K. M. Men and women differ in object memory but not performance of a virtual radial maze. Behavioral Neuroscience, 119(4), 853–862.
2005
St. Germain, S., Kurtz, M., Pearlson, G., & Astur, R. S. Driving simulator performance in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 74(1), 121–122.
Earlier Publications
2005
Rowland, L. M., Astur, R. S., Jung, R. E., Bustillo, J. R., Lauriello, J., & Yeo, R. A. Selective cognitive impairments associated with NMDA receptor blockade in humans. Neuropsychopharmacology, 30(3), 633–639.
2004
Astur, R. S., & Constable, R. T. Hippocampal dampening during a relational memory task. Behavioral Neuroscience, 118(4), 667–675.
2004
Astur, R. S., Tropp, J., Sava, S., Constable, R. T., & Markus, E. T. Sex differences in a virtual Morris water task and a virtual eight-arm maze. Behavioural Brain Research, 151(1–2), 103–115.
2004
St. Germain, S. A., Kurtz, M. M., Pearlson, G. D., & Astur, R. S. Virtual driving in individuals with schizophrenia. Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine, 2, 153–160.
2003
Astur, R. S., Mathalon, D. H., D’Souza, D. C., Krystal, J. H., St. Germain, S., Constable, R. T., & Pearlson, G. D. Using virtual reality to examine hippocampus functioning in schizophrenia. International Workshop on Virtual Rehabilitation.
2003
Washburn, D. A., & Astur, R. S. Exploration of virtual mazes by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Animal Cognition, 6, 161–168.
2002
Astur, R. S., Taylor, L. B., Mamelak, A. N., Philpott, L., & Sutherland, R. J. Humans with hippocampus damage display severe spatial memory impairments in a virtual Morris water task. Behavioural Brain Research, 132, 77–84.
2002
Astur, R. S., Klein, R. K., Mumby, D. G., Protz, D., Sutherland, R. J., & Martin, G. A role for olfaction in object recognition by normal and hippocampus-damaged rats. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 78, 186–191.
2001
Sutherland, R. J., Weisend, M., Mumby, D., Astur, R. S., Hanlon, F. M., Koerner, A., Thomas, M. J., Wu, Y., Moses, S., Cole, C., Hamilton, D. A., & Hoesing, J. M. Retrograde amnesia after hippocampal damage: Recent vs. remote memories in three tasks. Hippocampus, 11, 27.
1999
Astur, R. S., Mamelak, A. N., Philpott, L. M., Schuman, E. M., & Sutherland, R. J. Patients with unilateral hippocampus damage are impaired on a virtual Morris water task. Epilepsia, 40, 75.
1999
Hanlon, F. M., Astur, R. S., & Sutherland, R. J. Changes in adult brain and behavior caused by neonatal limbic damage: A rat model with implication for understanding cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 36, 64.
1999
Mumby, D. G., Astur, R. S., Weisend, M. P., & Sutherland, R. J. Retrograde amnesia and selective damage to the hippocampal formation: Memory for places and object discriminations. Behavioural Brain Research, 106, 97–107.
1998
Astur, R. S., Ortiz, M. L., & Sutherland, R. J. A characterization of performance by men and women in a virtual Morris water task: A large and reliable sex difference. Behavioural Brain Research, 93, 185–190.
1998
Astur, R. S., & Sutherland, R. J. Configural learning in humans: The transverse patterning problem. Psychobiology, 26, 176–182.
1998
Washburn, D. A., & Astur, R. S. Comparative investigations of visuospatial memory: Rehearsal in the sketchpad? Memory and Cognition, 26(2), 277–286.
1995
Abdulabiz, T., Astur, R. S., and colleagues. Hippocampus. In Behavioural Brain Research in Naturalistic and Semi-naturalistic Settings. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
1994
Lewine, J. D., Edgar, J. C., Repa, K., Paulson, K., Astur, R. S., & Orrison, W. W., Jr. A physical phantom for simulating the impact of pathology on magnetic source imaging. Advances in Biomagnetism. Plenum Press.
1994
Ciesielski, K. T., Yanofsky, R., Hill, D. E., Ludwig, R. N., Hart, B. L., Astur, R. S., & Snyder, T. Hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis and cognitive deficits in survivors of childhood leukemia. Archives of Neurology, 51(10), 985–993.
1994
Lewine, J. D., Doty, R. W., Astur, R. S., & Provencal, S. L. Role of the forebrain commissures in bihemispheric mnemonic integration in macaques. Journal of Neuroscience, 14(5), 2515–2530.
1994
Lewine, J. D., Astur, R. S., Davis, L. E., Knight, J. E., Maclin, E. L., & Orrison, W. W., Jr. Cortical organization in adulthood is modified by neonatal infarct: A case study. Radiology, 190(1), 93–96.