Northern Illinois University
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Research Interests

Our laboratory investigates how genetic, social, and environmental factors influence social behavior using the socially monogamous rodent, the prairie vole. We implement 3D-printed brain-on-chip technology to keep a slice of brain tissue alive and use calcium imaging and big data analytics to quantify neural imaging. We can see how various chemicals, including drugs of addiction, affect brain activity in regions responsible for social behavior.

Frequently Taught Classes

• PSYCH 300: Introduction to Brain and Behavior

Representative Publications

• Ortiz RJ, Gutierrez GG, Norman VN, Prosser RA, Baker CA (2024): Design, development, and validation of a 3D printed microfluidic perfusion system for studying circadian physiology via ex vivo slice culture (In Prep)
• Ortiz RJ, Brown J, Cushing BS, Lavretsky P (2024): ddRAD-seq reveals population structure and long-term demographic histories of North American Microtus vole species (In Prep)
• Ortiz RJ, P, Kulkarni, Ferris CF, Cushing BS (2024): Difference in resting state functional connectivity in and between the olfactory and social core of male rats and mice in comparison to socially monogamous male prairie voles (In Prep)
• Colarusso B, Ortiz R, Yeboah J, Chang A, Gupta M, Kulkarni P, Ferris CF (2024): APOE4 Rat Model of Alzheimer’s Disease: Sex Differences, Genetic Risk and Diet (In Review). Neuroscience Insights
• Ortiz RJ, Stetzik L, Lavretsky P, Cushing BS (2024): Comparative genomic analysis of two phenotypically distinct prairie vole populations and F1 hybrids using ddRADseq (In Prep)
• Ghaw A, Chunduri A, Chang A, Ortiz, RJ, Kozlowska M, Kulkarni P, Ferris CF (2024): Dose-dependent changes in cortical/thalamic and cerebellar activity following exposure to LSD: a BOLD functional MRI study in awake rats. (In Review). Brain Communications
• Kenkel WM, Ortiz RJ, Yee JR, Kulkarni PP, Carter CS, Cushing BS, Ferris CF (2023): Neuroanatomical and Functional Consequences of Oxytocin Treatment at Birth. Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106025
• Ash H, Chang A, Ortiz RJ, Kulkarni PP, Rauch B, Colman R, Ferris CF, Ziegler TE (2022): Structural and functional variations in the prefrontal cortex are associated with learning in pre-adolescent common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Behavioural Brain Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113920
• Coleman JR, Madularu D, Ortiz RJ, Athanassiou M, Knudsen A, Alkislar I, et al. (2022): Changes in brain structure and function following chronic exposure to inhaled vaporised cannabis during periadolescence in female and male mice: A multimodal MRI study. Addict Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.13169
• Ortiz RJ, Walger AE, Yee JR, Wagler AE, Kulkarni PP, Cai X, Ferris CF, Cushing BS (2021): Functional connectivity differences between two culturally distinct prairie vole populations: insights into the prosocial network. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.11.007
• Ortiz R, Yee JR, Kulkarni PP, Solomon NG, Keane B, Cai X, et al. (2020): Differences in diffusion weighted imaging and resting-state functional connectivity between two culturally distinct populations of prairie vole. Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.08.014