Assoc. Prof. Vyas, Ajai
Associate Professor
Phone: (65) 6795 4621
Email: [email protected]
Personal Lab Webpage: https://home.ethoneuro.com/
We are broadly interested in the backwash effects of death on the processes of life. The finite nature of life creates a variety of trade-offs in individuals. We are interested in how these trade-offs reflect in the brain and hormones. We use perturbation models in our approach. These models include manipulation of host behavior by coevolving parasites, the breakdown of learning and memory due to aging, and the effects of predator presence on prey physiology. These diverse approaches are united by our vision of placing the form and function of the neuroendocrine system within a framework of biological evolution. At the Ethoneuro group, we take pride in combining a mechanistic view of neuroendocrinology with its mooring in the evolution and ecological conditions.
Research Areas
- Ngo P, Lignereux L, O’Handley R, Vyas A. An extended epiphenotype for an extended phenotype in Toxoplasma gondii-infected feral house mice. Funct Ecol. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14223
- Hodgens P, Groffen H, O’Handley R, Vyas A, Lignereux L. Cat predation of Kangaroo Island dunnarts in aftermath of bushfire. Sci Rep. 2022;12:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11383-6
- Tong WH, Abdulai-Saiku S, Vyas A. Medial amygdala arginine vasopressin neurons regulate innate aversion to cat odors in male mice. Neuroendocrinology. 2021;111:505–520. https://doi.org/10.1159/000508862
- Vasudevan A, et al. α2u-globulins mediate manipulation of host attractiveness in Toxoplasma gondii–Rattus novergicus association. ISME J. 2015;9:2112–2115. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2015.33
- Liu A, Jain N, Vyas A, Lim LW. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex stimulation enhances memory and hippocampal neurogenesis in middle-aged rats. Elife. 2015;4:e04803. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04803