Brian Trainor

Education

• Ph.D., Psychology, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 2003
• M.S., Biology, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, 1998
• B.S., Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1996

About

In addition to his academic appointment in the Department of Psychology, Brian Trainor is an affiliated faculty member with the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience. He is also director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Lab at UC Davis. Professor Trainor is a member the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He is also an editorial board member for the journal Hormones and Behavior and Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology.

Research Focus

Mood and anxiety disorders are more likely to occur in women, yet most mouse models focus on males. Using the monogamous California mouse, Professor Trainor studies the effects of stress on the brain and behavior. One line of research investigates how oxytocin acts in different brain regions to regulate social approach and social vigilance, a behavior related to social anxiety. A second line of research investigates how adolescent development programs neural mechanisms of behavior related to anxiety.

Lab

Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Lab

Selected Publications

Chrisman, A., Sugimoto, C., Butler-Struben, H., Minie, V. A., Eagle, A. L., Duque-Wilckens, N., Ramos, A., Lewis, Y. I. Robison, A. J., Trainor, B. C. 2026. Spatial organization of oxytocin neurons in the paraventricular nucleus drives social approach or avoidance. Neuropsychopharmacology.

     -Brainpod podcast with Audrey Chrisman and Brian Trainor

Wright, E. C., Luo, P. X., Zakharenkov, H. C., Serna Godoy, A., Lake, A., A., Prince, Z. D., Sekar, S., Culkin, H. I., Luo, P. X., Ramirez, A. V., Dwyer, T., Kapor, A., Corbett, C., Tian, L., Fox, A. S., Trainor, B. C. 2023. Sexual differentiation of neural mechanisms of stress sensitivity during puberty. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 120, e2306475120.

Williams, A. V., Peña, C. J., Ramos-Maciel, S., Laman-Maharg, A., Ordoñez-Sanches, E., M., Britton, Durbin-Johnson, B., Settles, M., Hao, R., Yokoyama, S., Xu, C., Luo, P. X., Dwyer, T., Bhela, S., Black, A. M., Labonte, B., Serafini, R. A., Ruiz, A., Neve, R. L., Zachariou, V., Nestler, E. J., Trainor, B. C. 2022. Comparative transcriptional analyses in the nucleus accumbens identifies RGS2 as a key mediator of depression-related behavior. Biological Psychiatry, 92, 942-951.

Duque-Wilckens, N., Torres, L. Y., Yokoyama, S., Minie, V., Tran, A. M., Petkova, S. P., Hao, R., Ramos-Maciel, S. Rios, R. A., Jackson, K., Flores-Ramirez, F. J., Garcia-Carachure, I., Pesavento, P. A., Iñiguez, S. A., Grinevich, V. J. & Trainor, B. C. 2020. Extra-hypothalamic oxytocin neurons drive stress-induced social vigilance and avoidance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.

Williams, A. V., Duque-Wilckens, N. Ramos-Maciel, S., Campi, K. L., Bhela, S., Xu, C. K. Jackson, K., Chini, B. Pesavento, P. A. & Trainor, B. C. 2020. Social approach and social vigilance are differentially regulated by oxytocin receptors in the nucleus accumbens. Neuropsychopharmacology. 
     Commentary by Rieger and Christianson

Steinman, M. Q., Duque-Wilckens, N & Trainor, B. C. 2019. Complementary neural circuits for divergent effects of oxytocin: social approach versus social anxiety.  Biological Psychiatry. 85, 792-801.

Duque-Wilckens, N., Steinman, M. Q., Busnelli, M, Chini, B., Yokoyama, S., Pham, M., Laredo, S. A.,R. Hao, Perkeybile, A. M., Minie, V. A., Tan, P. B.. Bales, K. L. and Trainor, B. C. 2018. Oxytocin receptors in the anteromedial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis promote stress-induced social avoidance in females. Biological Psychiatry, 80, 203-213. (Priority communication).

Teaching

Professor Trainor teaches courses in Introduction to Biological Psychology, Behavioral Genetics, and Stress Neurbiology.

Awards

Professor Trainor won 2016 UC Davis Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award and the 2010 Frank Beach Young Investigator Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.