Vienna Behnke

E-MAIL:  [email protected]

Graduate Advisor

Esther Krook-Magnuson, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience

Undergraduate Institution and Major:

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, B.A. in Psychology, 2014
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, M.S. in Psychology - Behavioral Analysis, 2016

Graduate Research:

I study how the cerebellum contributes to behavior and higher cognitive functions like social interaction, object investigation, novelty processing, behavioral and cognitive flexibility, and reward processing. I’m interested in cerebellar circuitry and how the cerebellum fits into larger brain networks via its outputs to the thalamus and connections to the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex. I’m also interested in cerebellar function and dysfunction in disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

Publications

• Behnke, V. K., Stevenson, M. E., & Swain, R. A. (2018). Inactivation of the cerebellar fastigial nuclei alters social behavior in the rat. Behavioral Neuroscience, 132(6), 552-560. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29985008/
• Stevenson, M. E., Behnke V. K., & Swain, R. A. (2018). Exercise pattern and distance differentially affect hippocampal and cerebellar expression of FLK-1 and FLT-1 receptors in astrocytes and blood vessels. Behavioral Brain Research, 337, 8-16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28958753/

Thesis Committee

Esther Krook-Magnuson, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience (Advisor) 
Yi-Mei (Amy) Yang, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Sciences (Chair) 
Arif Hamid, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience 
Detlef Heck, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Sciences 
Ben Saunders, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience

Rotations

Steve Nelson, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics 
Martha Streng, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience 
Esther Krook-Magnuson, Ph.D., Department of Neuroscience