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Peter Shizgal, PhD
- Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Psychology
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Sign in to editResearch areas: Behavioural & computational neuroscience, reward, motivation, learning, decision making
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Biography
Biography
Peter Shizgal is a behavioral neurobiologist who studies brain mechanisms of reward, motivation, learning, and decision making. His research combines behavioural and neurochemical measurements with mathematical modeling and optogenetic perturbation of neural signalling. Shizgal is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Honorary Concordia University Senior Research Chair. A graduate of McGill University (BA) and the University of Pennsylvania (MA, PhD), he has spent sabbatical leaves at the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University and at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging (Harvard / MIT). Shizgal is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Psychological Association. He is a recipient of the NutraSweet Prize for research in feeding and nutrition as well as the “prix Adrien Pinard" of the “Societé Québeçoise pour la Recherche en Psychologie.”
Research
Overview: I study the neural basis of reward, motivation, learning and decision-making.
How do animals evaluate competing goals and select alternatives that best address their biological needs? What kinds of computations are involved, and how are these computations implemented in the brain? How do animals learn the distribution of rewards and hazards in the world around them and the attendant benefits and costs? Such questions are fundamental to my research on the neural basis of reward, motivation, learning and decision making and on the roles played by dopaminergic neurons in these processes. My research team and I use a combination of psychophysical, electrochemical, electrophysiological, optogenetic, neuroanatomical and mathematical-modeling methods in our studies of the neural mechanisms underlying the evaluation, selection, and pursuit of rewards.
Lab members
Current lab members
(joint member of Arvanitogiannis & Shizgal labs)
Publications
Selected publications
Evangelista, C., Mehrez, N., Ewusi Boisvert, E., Brake, W.G., & Shizgal, P. The priming effect of rewarding brain stimulation in rats depends on both the cost and strength of reward but survives blockade of D2-like dopamine receptors. European Journal of Neuroscience, 2023, 58(8), 3751-3784. [PubMed] [Content]
Pallikaras, V., and Shizgal, P. Dopamine and Beyond: Implications of Psychophysical Studies of Intracranial Self-Stimulation for the Treatment of Depression, Brain Sciences, 2022, 12(8), Article 1052 [PubMed] [Content]
Pallikaras, V., Carter, F., Velázquez-Martinez, D., Arvanitogiannis, A., & Shizgal, P. The trade-off between pulse duration and power in optical excitation of midbrain dopamine neurons approximates Bloch’s law. Behavioural Brain Research, 2022, 419 [PubMed] [Content]
Trujillo-Pisanty, I., Conover, K., Solis, P., Palacios, D., & Shizgal, P. (2020) Dopamine neurons do not constitute an obligatory stage in the final common path for the evaluation and pursuit of brain stimulation reward. PLOS ONE, 2020, 15(6): e0226722 [PubMed] [Content]
Cossette, M-P., Conover, K., & Shizgal, P. (2016) The neural substrates for the rewarding and dopamine-releasing effects of medial forebrain bundle stimulation have partially discrepant frequency responses. Behavioural Brain Research, 297, 345-358. [PubMed] [Content]
Solomon, R.B., Trujillo-Pisanty, I., Conover, K., & Shizgal, P. (2015) Psychophysical inference of frequency-following fidelity in the neural substrate for brain stimulation reward. Behavioural Brain Research, 292, 327-341. [PubMed] [Content]
Niyogi, R.K., Shizgal, P. & Dayan, P. (2014) Some work and some play: Microscopic and macroscopic approaches to labor and leisure. PLOS Computational Biology, 10(12):e1003894. [PubMed] [Content]Breton YA, Conover K, Shizgal P (2014) The effect of probability discounting on reward seeking: a three-dimensional perspective. Front Behav Neurosci 8:284. [PubMed] [Content]
Trujillo-Pisanty I, Conover K, Shizgal P (2013) A new view of the effect of dopamine receptor antagonism on operant performance for rewarding brain stimulation in the rat. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 231:1351-1364 [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez G, Trujillo-Pisanty I, Cossette MP, Conover K, Shizgal P (2012) Role of dopamine tone in the pursuit of brain stimulation reward. J Neurosci 32:11032-11041 [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (2012) Scarce means with alternative uses: Robbins’ definition of economics and its extension to the behavioral and neurobiological study of animal decision making. Front Neurosci 6:20 [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Hyman SP (2012) Motivational and addictive states. In: Principles of Neural Science, 5th edition. Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM, Siegelbaum SA, Hudspeth AJ (ed), McGraw-Hill, in press.ISBN-13:9780071390118, ISBN-10:0071390111
Hernandez G, Breton YA, Conover K, Shizgal P (2010) At what stage of neural processing does cocaine act to boost pursuit of rewards? PLoS ONE 5:e15081. [PubMed] [Content]Faculty of 1000 evaluation
Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (2008) The reinforcement mountain: allocation of behavior as a function of the rate and intensity of rewarding brain stimulation. Behav Neurosci 122:1126-1138. [PubMed] [Content]
Ludvig EA, Conover K, Shizgal P (2007) The effects of reinforcer magnitude on timing in rats. J Exp Anal Behav 87:201-218. [PubMed] [Content]
Conover K, Shizgal P (2005) Employing labor supply theory to measure the reward value of electrical brain stimulation. Games Econ Behav 52:283-304. [Content]
Breiter HC, Aharon I, Kahneman D, Dale A, Shizgal P (2001) Functional imaging of neural responses to expectancy and experience of monetary gains and losses. Neuron 30:619-639. [PubMed] [Content]
Fulton S, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2000) Modulation of brain reward circuitry by leptin. Science 287:125-128. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (1997) Neural basis of utility estimation. Curr Opin Neurobiol 7:198-208. [PubMed] [Content] [Cogprint]
Shizgal P, Conover K (1996) On the neural computation of utility. Current Directions in Psychological Science 5:37-43. [Cogprint]
Arvanitogiannis A, Waraczynski M, Shizgal P (1996) Effects of excitotoxic lesions of the basal forebrain on MFB self-stimulation. Physiol Behav 59:795-806. [PubMed] [Content]
Conover KL, Shizgal P (1994) Competition and summation between rewarding effects of sucrose and lateral hypothalamic stimulation in the rat. Behav Neurosci 108:537-548. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Schindler D, Rompre PP (1989) Forebrain neurons driven by rewarding stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in the rat: comparison of psychophysical and electrophysiological estimates of refractory periods. Brain Res 499:234-248. [PubMed] [Content]
Bielajew C, Shizgal P (1986) Evidence implicating descending fibers in self-stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle. J Neurosci 6:919-929. [PubMed] [Content]
Gallistel CR, Shizgal P, Yeomans JS (1981) A portrait of the substrate for self-stimulation. Psychol Rev 88:228-273. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Bielajew C, Corbett D, Skelton R, Yeomans J (1980) Behavioral methods for inferring anatomical linkage between rewarding brain stimulation sites. J Comp Physiol Psychol 94:227-237. [PubMed] [Content]
Complete publication list
[] [Content]
Carter, F., Cossette, M-P., Trujillo Pisanty, I., Pallikaras, V., Breton, Y-A., Conover, K., Caplan, J., Solis, P., Voisard, J., Yaksich, A., & Shizgal, P. Does phasic dopamine release cause policy updates? European Journal of Neuroscience, 2024, 59(6), 1260–1277. [PubMed] [Content]
Evangelista, C., Mehrez, N., Ewusi Boisvert, E., Brake, W.G., & Shizgal, P. The priming effect of rewarding brain stimulation in rats depends on both the cost and strength of reward but survives blockade of D2-like dopamine receptors. European Journal of Neuroscience, 2023, 58(8), 3751-3784. [PubMed] [Content]
Trujillo-Pisanty, I., Conover, K., Solis, P., Palacios, D., & Shizgal, P. (2020) Dopamine neurons do not constitute an obligatory stage in the final common path for the evaluation and pursuit of brain stimulation reward. PLOS ONE, 2020, 15(6): e0226722 [PubMed] [Content]
Solomon, R.B., Conover, K., & Shizgal, P. (2017) Valuation of opportunity costs by rats working for rewarding electrical brain stimulation, PLoS ONE, 12(8): e0182120. [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez, G., Cossette, M-P., Shizgal, P., & Rompré, P-P. (2016) Decreased dopamine release correlated with increased reward seeking: a case for NMDA receptor blockade-induced depolarization inactivation. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 10(161). [PubMed] [Content]
Scardochio, T. Trujillo-Pisanty, I., Conover, K., Shizgal, P. & Clarke, P. B. S. (2016) Phasic dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens in relation to rat 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9:00331. [PubMed] [Content]
Cossette, M-P., Conover, K., & Shizgal, P. (2016) The neural substrates for the rewarding and dopamine-releasing effects of medial forebrain bundle stimulation have partially discrepant frequency responses. Behavioural Brain Research, 297, 345-358. [PubMed] [Content]
Solomon, R.B., Trujillo-Pisanty, I., Conover, K., & Shizgal, P. (2015) Psychophysical inference of frequency-following fidelity in the neural substrate for brain stimulation reward. Behavioural Brain Research, 292: 327-341. [PubMed] [Content]
Trujillo-Pisanty, I., Sanio, C., Chaudhri, N., & Shizgal, P. (2015) Robust optical fiber patch-cords for in vivo optogenetic experiments in rats. MethodsX, 2:263-271. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Hernandez G (2015) Intracranial self-stimulation. In: Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology, 2nd edition, Stolerman IP (ed), 838-845, Spinger-Verlag, ISBN: 978-3-642-36171-5, 978-3-642-36172-2.
Shizgal P (2015) Brain stimulation reward. In: International Encyclopedia of Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, James D. Wright (ed), 841–846, Elsevier, ISBN: 9780080970868.
Niyogi, R.K., Shizgal, P. & Dayan, P. (2014) Some work and some play: Microscopic and macroscopic approaches to labor and leisure. PLOS Computational Biology, 10(12):e1003894. [PubMed] [Content]
Breton YA, Conover K, Shizgal P (2014) The effect of probability discounting on reward seeking: a three-dimensional perspective. Front Behav Neurosci 8:284. [PubMed] [Content]
Niyogi RK, Breton YA, Solomon RB, Conover K, Shizgal P, Dayan P (2014) Optimal indolence: a normative microscopic approach to work and leisure. J R Soc Interface 11:20130969 [PubMed] [Content]
Trujillo-Pisanty I, Conover K, Shizgal P (2013) A new view of the effect of dopamine receptor antagonism on operant performance for rewarding brain stimulation in the rat. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 231:1351-1364 [PubMed][Content]
Breton YA, Mullett A, Conover K, Shizgal P (2013) Validation and extension of the reward-mountain model. Front Behav Neurosci 7:125 [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez G, Trujillo-Pisanty I, Cossette MP, Conover K, Shizgal P (2012) Role of dopamine tone in the pursuit of brain stimulation reward. J Neurosci 32:11032-11041 [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (2012) Scarce means with alternative uses: Robbins’ definition of economics and its extension to the behavioral and neurobiological study of animal decision making. Front Neurosci 6:20 [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Hyman SP (2012) Motivational and addictive states. In: Principles of Neural Science, 5th edition. Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM, Siegelbaum SA, Hudspeth AJ (ed), McGraw-Hill, in press.ISBN-13:9780071390118, ISBN-10:0071390111
Trujillo-Pisanty I, Hernandez G, Moreau-Debord I, Cossette, MP, Conover K, Cheer JF, Shizgal P (2011) Cannabinoid receptor blockade reduces the opportunity cost at which rats maintain operant performance for rewarding brain stimulation.J Neurosci 31:5426-5435 [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez G, Breton YA, Conover K, Shizgal P (2010) At what stage of neural processing does cocaine act to boost pursuit of rewards? PLoS ONE 5:e15081. [PubMed] [Content]Faculty of 1000 evaluation
Shizgal P, Hernandez G (2010) Intracranial self-stimulation. In: Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology, Stolerman IP (ed), Spinger-Verlag, p. 653-660. [Content]
Breton YA, Marcus JC, Shizgal P (2009) Rattus Psychologicus: construction of preferences by self-stimulating rats. Behav Brain Res 202:77-91. [PubMed][Content]
Hernandez G, Shizgal P (2009) Dynamic changes in dopamine tone during self-stimulation of the ventral tegmental area in rats. Behav Brain Res 198:91-97. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (2009) Answers to five questions about the neural basis of pleasure. In: Pleasures of the Brain. Berridge K, Kringelbach ML (ed), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 7-9,17-18,20.
Shizgal P (2009) Urgency. In: Oxford Companion to Emotion and the Affective Sciences. Sander D, Scherer, KR (ed), Oxford University Press, p. 400.
Shizgal P (2009) Reward decision-making. In: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Squire LR (ed), Elsevier, p. 313-318. [Abstract & Outline]
Hernandez G, Haines E, Shizgal P (2008) Potentiation of intracranial self-stimulation during prolonged subcutaneous infusion of cocaine. J Neurosci Methods 175:79-87. [PubMed] [Content]
Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (2008) The reinforcement mountain: allocation of behavior as a function of the rate and intensity of rewarding brain stimulation. Behav Neurosci 122:1126-1138. [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez G, Rajabi H, Stewart J, Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (2008) Dopamine tone increases similarly during predictable and unpredictable administration of rewarding brain stimulation at short inter-train intervals. Behav Brain Res 188:227-232. [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez G, Haines E, Rajabi H, Stewart J, Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (2007) Predictable and unpredictable rewards produce similar changes in dopamine tone. Behav Neurosci 121:887-895. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (2007) Neural mechanisms of reward. In: Foraging. Stephens DW, Brown JS, Ydenberg RC (ed), University of Chicago Press, p. 79-86.
Ludvig EA, Conover K, Shizgal P (2007) The effects of reinforcer magnitude on timing in rats. J Exp Anal Behav 87:201-218. [PubMed] [Content]
Fulton S, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2006) Potentiation of brain stimulation reward by weight loss: evidence for functional heterogeneity in brain reward circuitry. Behav Brain Res 174:56-63. [PubMed] [Content]
Hernandez G, Hamdani S, Rajabi H, Conover K, Stewart J, Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (2006) Prolonged rewarding stimulation of the rat medial forebrain bundle: neurochemical and behavioral consequences. Behav Neurosci 120:888-904. [PubMed] [Content] (Featured article: commentary on pp 992-994). Faculty of 1000 evaluation
Conover K, Shizgal P (2005) Employing labor supply theory to measure the reward value of electrical brain stimulation. Games Econ Behav 52:283-304. [Content]
Fulton S, Richard D, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2004) Food restriction and leptin impact brain reward circuitry in lean and obese Zucker rats. Behav Brain Res 155:319-329. [PubMed] [Content]
Sonnenschein B, Conover K, Shizgal P (2003) Growth of brain stimulation reward as a function of duration and stimulation strength. Behav Neurosci 117:978-994. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Arvanitogiannis A (2003) Gambling on dopamine. Science 299:1856-1858. [PubMed] [Content]
Fulton S, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2003) Energy balance and reward. In: Progress in Obesity Research: 9. Medeiros-Neto G, Halpern A, Bouchard C (ed), London: John Libbey, p. 818-821.
Fulton S, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2002) Does neuropeptide Y contribute to the modulation of brain stimulation reward by chronic food restriction? Behav Brain Res 134:157-164. [PubMed] [Content]
Fulton S, Richard D, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2002) Interaction of CRH and energy balance in the modulation of brain stimulation reward. Behav Neurosci 116:651-659. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Fulton S, Woodside B (2001) Brain reward circuitry and the regulation of energy balance. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 25 Suppl 5:S17-S21. [PubMed] [Content]
Conover KL, Fulton S, Shizgal P (2001) Operant tempo varies with reinforcement rate: implications for measurement of reward efficacy. Behav Processes 56:85-101. [PubMed] [Content]
Breiter HC, Aharon I, Kahneman D, Dale A, Shizgal P (2001) Functional imaging of neural responses to expectancy and experience of monetary gains and losses. Neuron 30:619-639. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (2001) Brain stimulation reward. In: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Smelser NJ, Baltes PB (Eds.), Elsevier, pp 1358-1362, ISBN: 978-0-08-043076-8. [Content]
Fulton S, Woodside B, Shizgal P (2000) Modulation of brain reward circuitry by leptin. Science 287:125-128. [PubMed] [Content]
Arvanitogiannis A, Tzschentke TM, Riscaldino L, Wise RA, Shizgal P (2000) Fos expression following self-stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex. Behav Brain Res 107:123-132. [PubMed] [Content]
Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (1999) Early onset of demyelination after N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions of the lateral hypothalamus. Behav Brain Res 104:89-93. [PubMed] [Content]
Arvanitogiannis A, Riscaldino L, Shizgal P (1999) Effects of NMDA lesions of the medial basal forebrain on LH and VTA self-stimulation. Physiol Behav 65:805-810. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (1999) Motivation. In: The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences. Wilson RA, Keil F (ed), Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, p. 566-568.
Shizgal P (1999) On the neural computation of utility: implications from studies of brain stimulation reward. In: Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology. Kahneman D, Diener E, Schwarz N (ed), New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1999, pp 502-526. [Cogprint]
Arvanitogiannis A, Flores C, Shizgal P (1997) Fos-like immunoreactivity in the caudal diencephalon and brainstem following lateral hypothalamic self-stimulation. Behav Brain Res 88:275-279. [PubMed] [Content]
Flores C, Arvanitogiannis A, Shizgal P (1997) Fos-like immunoreactivity in forebrain regions following self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus and the ventral tegmental area. Behav Brain Res 87:239-251. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (1997) Neural basis of utility estimation. Curr Opin Neurobiol 7:198-208. [PubMed] [Content] [Cogprint]
Shizgal P (1996) The Janus faces of addiction. Behav Brain Sci 19:595-596. [Abstract]
Woodside B, Renaudin A, Shizgal P (1996) Administration of ovarian steroid hormones does not change the reward effectiveness of lateral hypothalamic stimulation in ovariectomized rats. Psychobiology 24:202-210. [Content]
Arvanitogiannis A, Flores C, Pfaus JG, Shizgal P (1996) Increased ipsilateral expression of Fos following lateral hypothalamic self-stimulation. Brain Res 720:148-154. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Conover K (1996) On the neural computation of utility. Current Directions in Psychological Science 5:37-43. [Cogprint]
Arvanitogiannis A, Waraczynski M, Shizgal P (1996) Effects of excitotoxic lesions of the basal forebrain on MFB self-stimulation. Physiol Behav 59:795-806. [PubMed] [Content]
Murray B, Shizgal P (1996) Behavioral measures of conduction velocity and refractory period for reward-relevant axons in the anterior LH and VTA. Physiol Behav 59:643-652. [PubMed] [Content]
Murray B, Shizgal P (1996) Physiological measures of conduction velocity and refractory period for putative reward-relevant MFB axons arising in the rostral MFB. Physiol Behav 59:427-437. [PubMed] [Content]
Murray B, Shizgal P (1996) Attenuation of medial forebrain bundle reward by anterior lateral hypothalamic lesions. Behav Brain Res 75:33-47. [PubMed][Content]
Waraczynski M, Shizgal P (1995) Self-stimulation of the MFB following parabrachial lesions. Physiol Behav 58:559-566. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Murray B (1994) The collision test: inference of axonal linkage and estimation of conduction velocity from behavioural or physiological effects of paired-pulse stimulation. Neuroscience Protocols, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 94-010-04, pp. 1-19.
Murray B, Shizgal P (1994) Evidence implicating both slow- and fast-conducting fibers in the rewarding effect of medial forebrain bundle stimulation. Behav Brain Res 63:47-60. [PubMed] [Content]
Dib B, Rompre PP, Amir S, Shizgal P (1994) Thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue is activated by electrical stimulation of the rat dorsal raphe nucleus. Brain Res 650:149-152. [PubMed] [Content]
Conover KL, Shizgal P (1994) Differential effects of postingestive feedback on the reward value of sucrose and lateral hypothalamic stimulation in rats. Behav Neurosci 108:559-572. [PubMed] [Content]
Conover KL, Woodside B, Shizgal P (1994) Effects of sodium depletion on competition and summation between rewarding effects of salt and lateral hypothalamic stimulation in the rat. Behav Neurosci 108:549-558. [PubMed][Content]
Conover KL, Shizgal P (1994) Competition and summation between rewarding effects of sucrose and lateral hypothalamic stimulation in the rat. Behav Neurosci 108:537-548. [PubMed] [Content]
Forgie ML, Shizgal P (1993) Mapping the substrate for brain stimulation reward by means of current-number trade-off functions. Behav Neurosci 107:506-524. [PubMed] [Content]
Druhan JP, Levy M, Shizgal P (1993) Effects of varying reinforcement schedule, reward current, and pretrial priming stimulation on discrete-trial performance for brain stimulation reward. Psychobiology 21:37-42. [Content]
Waraczynski M, Conover K, Shizgal P (1992) Rewarding effectiveness of caudal MFB stimulation is unaltered following DMH lesions. Physiol Behav 52:211-218. [PubMed] [Content]
Murray B, Shizgal P (1991) Anterolateral lesions of the medial forebrain bundle increase the frequency threshold for self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area in the rat. Psychobiology 19:135-146. [Content]
Shizgal P, Conover K, Schindler D (1991) Medial forebrain bundle units in the rat: dependence of refractory period estimates on pulse duration. Behav Brain Res 42:151-160. [PubMed] [Content]
Waraczynski M, Ton MN, Shizgal P (1990) Failure of amygdaloid lesions to increase the threshold for self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area. Behav Brain Res 40:159-168. [PubMed] [Content]
Kiss I, Shizgal P (1990) Compound action potentials recorded in the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, and periaqueductal gray following rewarding stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus in the rat. Psychobiology 18:205-214. [Content]
Kiss I, Shizgal P (1989) Improved artifact rejection and isolation of compound action potentials by means of digital subtraction. J Neurosci Methods 30:219-229. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Schindler D, Rompre PP (1989) Forebrain neurons driven by rewarding stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in the rat: comparison of psychophysical and electrophysiological estimates of refractory periods. Brain Res 499:234-248. [PubMed] [Content]
Amir S, Shizgal P, Rompre PP (1989) Glutamate injection into the suprachiasmatic nucleus stimulates brown fat thermogenesis in the rat. Brain Res 498:140-144. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P (1989) Toward a cellular analysis of intracranial self-stimulation: contributions of collision studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 13:81-90. [PubMed][Content]
Shizgal P, Murray B (1989) Neuronal basis of intracranial self-stimulation. In: The Neuropharmacological Basis of Reward. Liebman JM, Cooper SJ (ed), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 106-163.
Shizgal P, Bielajew C, Rompre PP (1988) Quantitative characteristics of the directly stimulated neurons subserving self-stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle: Psychophysical inference and electrophysiological measurement. In: Quantitative Analyses of Behavior. Biological Determinants of Behavior. Volume VII. Commons ML, Church RM, Stellar JR, Wagner AR (ed), Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, p. 59-85.
Bielajew C, Shizgal P (1986) Evidence implicating descending fibers in self-stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle. J Neurosci 6:919-929. [PubMed][Content]
Rompre PP, Shizgal P (1986) Electrophysiological characteristics of neurons in forebrain regions implicated in self-stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in the rat. Brain Res 364:338-349. [PubMed] [Content]
Macmillan CJ, Simantirakis P, Shizgal P (1985) Self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus and ventrolateral tegmentum: excitability characteristics of the directly stimulated substrates. Physiol Behav 35:711-723. [PubMed]"http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(85)90401-9" target="_top">[Content]
Schenk S, Prince C, Shizgal P (1985) Spatio-temporal integration in the substrate for self-stimulation of the prefrontal cortex. Physiol Behav 35:303-306. [PubMed] [Content]
Schenk S, Shizgal P (1985) The substrates for self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus and medial prefrontal cortex: a comparison of strength-duration characteristics. Physiol Behav 34:943-949. [PubMed] [Content]
Blair R, Switzman L, Sinyor D, Chazin W, Cytryniak H, Rogan F, Shizgal P, Amit Z (1982) Lithium and ion chelators mimicked morphine in the production of explosive motor behavior. Behav Neural Biol 35:408-416. [PubMed] [Content]
Bielajew C, Shizgal P (1982) Behaviorally derived measures of conduction velocity in the substrate for rewarding medial forebrain bundle stimulation. Brain Res 237:107-119. [PubMed] [Content]
Schenk S, Shizgal P (1982) The substrates for lateral hypothalamic and medial pre-frontal cortex self-stimulation have different refractory periods and show poor spatial summation. Physiol Behav 28:133-138. [PubMed] [Content]
Bielajew C, Lapointe M, Kiss I, Shizgal P (1982) Absolute and relative refractory periods of the substrates for lateral hypothalamic and ventral midbrain self-stimulation. Physiol Behav 28:125-132. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Kiss I, Bielajew C (1982) Psychophysical and electrophysiological studies of the substrate for brain stimulation reward. In: The Neural Basis of Feeding and Reward. Hoebel BG, Novin D (ed), Brunswick, ME: Haer Institute, p. 419-429.
Schenk S, Coupal A, Williams T, Shizgal P (1981) A within-subject comparison of the effects of morphine on lateral hypothalamic and central gray self-stimulation. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 15:37-41. [PubMed] [Content]
Bielajew C, Jordan C, Ferme-Enright J, Shizgal P (1981) Refractory periods and anatomical linkage of the substrates for lateral hypothalamic and periaqueductal gray self-stimulation. Physiol Behav 27:95-104. [PubMed][Content]
Gallistel CR, Shizgal P, Yeomans JS (1981) A portrait of the substrate for self-stimulation. Psychol Rev 88:228-273. [PubMed] [Content]
Skelton RW, Shizgal P (1980) Parametric analysis of ON- and OFF- responding for hypothalamic stimulation. Physiol Behav 25:699-706. [PubMed] [Content]
Bielajew C, Shizgal P (1980) Dissociation of the substrates for medial forebrain bundle self-stimulation and stimulation-escape using a two-electrode stimulation technique. Physiol Behav 25:707-711. [PubMed][Content]
Shizgal P, Bielajew C, Corbett D, Skelton R, Yeomans J (1980) Behavioral methods for inferring anatomical linkage between rewarding brain stimulation sites. J Comp Physiol Psychol 94:227-237. [PubMed] [Content]
Blair R, Cytryniak H, Shizgal P, Amit Z (1980) Heroin, but not levorphanol, produces explosive motor behavior in naloxone-treated rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 69:313-314. [PubMed] [Content]
Schenk S, Williams T, Coupal A, Shizgal P (1980) A comparison between the effects of morphine on the rewarding and aversive properties of lateral hypothalamic and central gray stimulation. Physiol Psych 8:372-378. [Content]
Amir S, Blair R, Shizgal P, Amit Z (1979) Dual mechanism mediating opiate effects? Science 205:424-425. [PubMed] [Content]
Blair R, Cytryniak H, Shizgal P, Amit Z (1978) Naloxone's antagonism of rigidity but not explosive motor behavior: possible evidence for two types of mechanisms underlying the actions of opiates and opioids. Behav Biol 24:24-31. [PubMed] [Content]
Blair R, Liran J, Cytryniak H, Shizgal P, Amit Z (1978) Explosive motor behavior, rigidity and periaqueductal gray lesions. Neuropharmacology 17:205-209. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Mathews G (1977) Electrical stimulation of the rat diencephalon: differential effects of interrupted stimulation on on- and off-responding. Brain Res 129:319-333. [PubMed] [Content]
Shizgal P, Sklar LS, Brown ZW, Amit Z (1977) Differential motor effects of intraventricular infusion of morphine and etonitazene. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 6:17-20. [PubMed] [Content]
Amit Z, Corcoran ME, Charness ME, Shizgal P (1973) Intake of diazepam and hashish by alcohol preferring rats deprived of alcohol. Physiol Behav 10:523-527. [PubMed][Content]Biography
Peter Shizgal was an undergraduate student at McGill University and earned a BA in Honours Psychology Program in 1971. He then undertook graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, first carrying out research under the supervision of Philip Teitelbaum and then under the supervision of Randy Gallistel. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Psychology in 1975 and joined the faculty of Concordia University. In 1981-82, he was a visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, State University of New York at Stony Brook, and in 2000, he spent a sabbatical leave at the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center of the Massachusetts General Hospital. He served as Director of the CSBN from 1997-2003 and has been a member of grant-review committees at the federal and provincial levels. In 1994 he won the NutraSweet Prize for research in nutrition and feeding, and in 2011 he was awarded the Prix Adrien Pinard by the Société québecoise pour la recherche en psychologie. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Society, he held a Senior Concordia University Research Chair from 2001-2015 and is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Concordia.
Lab Alumni
Some former students, post-doctoral fellows, and visiting faculty members
• Andreas Arvanitogiannis, Associate Professor, Concordia University
• Marc-André Bacon, Instructor, Collège de Valleyfield & Cégep de l’Outaouais (Gatineau)
• France Bellisle, Researcher, University Paris 13
• Andrea Berardelli, dental surgeon
• Kate Bielajew, Professor, University of Ottawa
• Yannick-André Breton, Senior Advisor, Metrics and Reporting for the Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives initiative, McGill University
• Jillian Caplan, medical student, McGill University
• Francis Carter, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke
• Kent Conover
• Marie-Pierre Cossette, Directrice aux Grands Défis de Société au Fonds de recherche du Québec
• Brian Dunn, Associate Medical Director, Concentrix Health Experience
• Czarina Evangelista, Research Project Manager, University of Western Ontario
• Esthelle Ewusi-Boisvert, Graduate student, University of Southern California
• Ceclia Flores, Associate Professor, McGill University
• Margaret Forgie, Faculty member, University of Lethbridge
• Stephanie Fulton, Associate Professor, Université de Montréal
• Eric Haines, PhD student, Université de Montréal
• Giovanni Hernandez, research associate, McGill University
• Nafissa Ismail, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa
• Cynthia Jordan, Professor, Michigan State University
• Ivan Kiss, Adjunct Professor, McMaster University
• Natasha Kuzyk, medical student, University of Manitoba
• Christophe Lower, Mechanical Engineer / Commercial Helicopter Pilot
• Elliot Ludvig, AssociateProfessor, University of Warwick
• Carole Macmillan, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Chicago
• Norhan Mehrez, Graduate student, Concordia University
• Zohreh Mohammadrezaee, Research assistant, McGill University
• Ian Moreau-Debord, PhD student, Université de Montréal
• Ada Mullett, Associate in neuropsychology, Dr. Duncan Day & Associates
• Beverley Murray, Proposal & Grants Writer Coordinator, Schizophrenia Society of Ontario
• Keiji Oda, Assistant Professor, Loma Linda University School of Public Health
• Vasilios Pallikaras, PhD student, Concordia University
• Pierre-Paul Rompré, Professor, Université de Montréal
• Diana Sarghi, Graduate student, Concordia University
• Susan Schenk, Professor and Deputy Dean, Victoria University of Wellington
• Dwayne Schindler, Adjunct Professor, University of Ottawa
• Pantelis Simantirakis, anesthesiologist, Lakeridge Health Corporation
• Ron Skelton, Associate Professor, University of Victoria
• Rebecca Solomon, research associate
• Bonnie Sonnenschein, Instructor, Vanier College
• Ivan Trujillo-Pisanty, Assistant Professor, Langara College
• Monika Trzcinska, Partner, Bluestar BioAdvisors, LLC
• David Natanael Velázquez Martinez, Professor, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
• Meg Waraczynski, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater