Andrew Fox

Andrew Fox Portrait

Associate Professor

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison

About

Andrew Fox’s is a member of the Psychology Department and the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC). Fox is a member of a number of organizations including the Society for Neuroscience and the Society of Biological Psychiatry.

Research Focus

In the Fox lab, we want to understand the neurobiology of “affective style”. We want to understand why some people are afraid to leave the house, while others enjoy the feeling of danger. We want to understand why some people callously abuse, while others become overwhelmed with empathy. We hope that understanding the biology of affective style will lead us to a better understand humanity and help people make choices about who they want to be.

Much of our research aims to understand the biology that underlies dispositional anxiety. This kind of understanding could allow for specific interventions to ameliorate anxiety disorders and reduce the suffering of anxious individuals. To do this, we use varied tools to study humans and nonhuman primates, including: high-throughput computing, neuroimaging, RNA-sequencing, cellphone-based experience sampling, and designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs.

The Fox lab for Translational Affective Neuroscience aims to foster principles of innovation, integration, and collaboration in conducting rigorous and open science.

Visit our website to learn more: http://foxlab.ucdavis.edu

Publications

  • Fox AS, Oler JA, Tromp DPM, Fudge J, & Kalin NH (2015). Extending the amygdala in theories of threat processing. Trends in Neurosciences. 38(5)
  • Fox AS, Oler JA, Shackman AJ, Shelton SE, Raveendran M, McKay DR, Converse AK, Alexander AL, Davidson RJ, Blangero J, Rogers J, & Kalin NH (2015). Intergenerational neural mediators of early-life anxious temperament. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112(29):9118-9122
  • Fox AS & Kalin NH (2014). A Translational Neuroscience Approach to Understanding the Development of Social Anxiety Disorder and Its Pathophysiology. American Journal of Psychiatry. 171(11):1162‚Äì1173
  • Fox AS, Oler JA, Shelton SE, Nanda SA, Davidson RJ, Roseboom PH, Kalin NH (2012). Central amygdala nucleus (Ce) gene expression linked to increased trait-like Ce metabolism and anxious temperament in young primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109(44):18108‚Äì18113
  • Fox AS, Shelton SE, Oakes TR, Davidson RJ, Kalin NH (2008). Trait-like Brain Activity during Adolescence Predicts Anxious Temperament in Primates. PLoS One. 3(7): e2570

A complete list of publications can be found on the Fox Lab website, or on Google Scholar.

Teaching

Professor Fox teaches the following courses: PSC 154 Psychology of Emotion, PSC 101 Introduction to Biological Psychology.