About the Center

At Indiana University we have assembled a group of behavioral scientists whose research concerns and commitment to training in animal behavior cross the boundaries of their disciplines. CISAB's current research strengths include sensory physiology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary biology, developmental psychobiology, animal learning and behavioral neuroscience. Our faculty are based in several departments, including the Departments of Biology, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Medical Sciences, Anthropology, Chemistry, History & Philosophy of Science, and Gender Studies. Our expertise ranges from analyses of neuronal function and connections, through modeling of behavior in terms of optimization and dynamical systems, to field experiments on the behavior of free-living animals. We work with diverse organisms in a variety of field and laboratory settings. We are particularly excited about two new research groups focused on "Reproductive Diversity" and "Social Learning".

 

Why Be Integrative?

Why study behavior in an integrative way? Among many reasons, we believe that an interdisciplinary and synthetic approach to science promotes more rapid development and new insights. For example, the relation of brain to behavior is one of the last great biological mysteries, and its solution requires an integrative approach. In a practical way and a moral sense, a greater understanding of how animals perceive and respond to their environments is critical if we are to anticipate accurately the needs of animals as they confront a rapidly changing planet. Finally, serious and integrative study of the intriguing parallels between human and animal behavior is one of the important ways to increase understanding of ourselves.

Funding

The Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior and the academic Program in Animal Behavior is supported by Indiana University, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and private donors. Please contact us if you would like to make a donation!

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