Laura Been
Laura Been
she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Psychology; Director of Neuroscience
KINSC S408
(610) 896-1017
lbeen [at] haverford.edu
Homepage
Publications

For More Information, Please visit the Been Lab Website.

Research

I am a behavioral neuroendocrinologist; this means I’m interested in the relationship between the brain, hormones, and behavior. In my lab, we primarily study reproductive behaviors. I am interested in several aspects of reproductive behavior--including attraction, copulation, and pregnancy/postpartum--and my lab group is working to identify neural correlates and sites of neuroplasticity associated with each. Our research takes a comprehensive technical approach, ranging from the cellular/molecular to the systems/behavioral levels of analysis. We use hamsters and mice to model these complex brain-hormone-behavior relationships under simpler and more controlled conditions. Our goal is to understand fundamental principles of neurobiology that can be applied to improve human health.

Teaching

  • Psyc 200: Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology
  • Psyc / Biol 217: Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Psyc 317: Laboratory in Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Psyc / Biol 328: Neurobiology of Sexual Behavior
  • Psyc 321: Revolutions in Neuroscience/Psychology
  • Psyc 394: Senior Thesis Research in Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Neur 398: Senior Thesis Research in Behavioral Neuroscience

Selected Publications (*Haverford undergraduate co-author):

  1. Irvine, A.*, Gaffney, M.*, Horton, M.*, Morris, H.*, Harris, K.*, Corbin, J.*, Merrill, C.*, Haughee, E., Perlis, M., and Been, L.E. Elevated estradiol during a hormone simulated pseudopregnancy decreases sleep and increases hypothalamic activation in female Syrian hamsters. (2023) In Press, Journal of Neuroendocrinology.
  2. Foster, W.B.*, Beach, K.F.*, Carson, P.F.*, Harris, K.C.*, Alonso, B.L.*, Costa, L.T.*, Simamora, R.C.*, Corbin, J.E.*, Hoag, K.F.*, Mercado, S.I.*, Bernhard, A.G., Leung, C.H., Nestler, E.J. and Been, L.E. Estradiol withdrawal following a hormone simulated pregnancy induces deficits in affective behaviors and increases ∆FosB in D1 and D2 neurons in the nucleus accumbens core in mice. (2023) Hormones and Behavior, 149, 105312.
  3. Been, L.E., Sheppard, P.A.S., Galea, L.A.M., and Glasper, E.R. Hormones and Neuroplasticity: A Lifetime of Adaptive Responses. (2022) Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 132:679-690.
  4. Hedges, V.L, Heaton, E.C.*, Amaral-Marrero, C.F.*, Benedetto, L.E.*, Bodie, C.L.*, D’Antonio, B.I.*, Davila, D.R.*, Lee, R.H.*, Levine, M.T.*, O’Sullivan, E.C.*, Pisch, N.P.*, Taveras, S.*, Wild, H.R.*, Grieb, Z.A., Ross, A.P, Albers, H.E., and Been, L.E. (2021). Estrogen withdrawal increases postpartum anxiety via oxytocin plasticity in the paraventricular hypothalamus and dorsal raphe nucleus. Biological Psychiatry, 89(9):929-938.
  5. Moore, K.M., Oelberg, W.L., Glass, M.R.*, Johnson, M.D., Been, L.E., and Meisel, R.L. (2019) Glutamate afferents from the medial prefrontal cortex mediate nucleus accumbens activation by female sexual behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13: 227.
  6. Meisel, R.L. and Been, L.E. (2019). Dopamine. In: Lykins, A. (Eds), Encyclopedia of Sexuality and Gender, Springer, Cham.
  7. Acaba, L.*, Sidibe, D.*, Thygesen, J.*, Van der Kloot, H.*, and Been, L.E. (2018). Sex Experience Increases Delta FosB in Male and Female Hamsters, but Facilitates Sex Behavior Only in Females. Behavioral Neuroscience, 133(4):378-384.
  8. Been, L.E., Gibbons, A.B.*, and Meisel, R.L. (2018). Towards a Neurobiology of Female Aggression. Neuropharmacology,156: 107451.
  9. Abbott, C.* and Been, L.E. (2017). Strategies for Transforming a Neuroscience Classroom into a Brave and Trusting Learning Environment: A Dialogic Approach. Teaching and Learning Together In Higher Education, Fall 2017 Issue.
  10. Been, L.E., Mermelstein, P.G., and Meisel, R.L. (2016). Using a pop-science book to teach introductory neuroscience: advantages for science majors and non-science majors alike.Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 15(1): A67-A71.
  11. Been, L.E., Moore, K.M., Kennedy, B.C., and Meisel, R.L. (2015). Metabotropic glutamate receptors and Fragile X Signaling in a female model of escalated aggression. Biological Psychiatry, 79(8): 685-92.
  12. Been L.E., Staffend, N.A., Tucker, A., and Meisel, R.L. (2013). Vesicular glutamate transporter 2 and tyrosine hydroxylase are not co-localized in Syrian hamster nucleus accumbens afferents. Neuroscience Letters, 550: 41-5.
  13. Been, L.E., Vialou V., Hedges, V.L., Nestler, E.J., and Meisel, R.L. (2013). Delta JunD overexpression in the nucleus accumbens prevents sexual reward in female Syrian hamsters. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 12(6): 666-72.
  14. Been, L.E. and Petrulis, A. (2012). Dissociated functional pathways for appetitive and consummatory reproductive behaviors in male Syrian hamsters. Hormones and Behavior, 61(2): 204-211.
  15. Been, L.E., Bauman, J.B., Petrulis, A. and Chang, Y.H. (2012). X-ray kinematics of vaginal scent marking in female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Physiology and Behavior, 105: 1021-2027.
  16. Been, L.E. and Petrulis, A. (2011). Chemosensory and hormone information are relayed directly between the medial amygdala, posterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial preoptic area in male Syrian hamsters. Hormones and Behavior, 59(4): 536-548.
  17. Been, L.E. and Petrulis, A. (2010). The role of the medial preoptic area in appetitive and consummatory reproductive behaviors depends on sexual experience and odor volatility in male Syrian hamsters. Neuroscience, 170: 1120-1132.
  18. Been, L.E. and Petrulis, A. (2010). Lesions of the posterior bed nucleus of the stria terminalis eliminate opposite-sex odor preference and delay copulation in male Syrian hamsters: role of odor volatility and sexual experience. European Journal of Neuroscience, 32(3): 483-493.