Jari Willing

Professor, Department of Psychology
Phone: (419) 372-8335
Email: jwillin@bgsu.edu
Office: Room 249, Psychology Building
Lab Page: N/A
CV: DOC

Taking Graduate Students? Yes
Sponsoring Undergraduate Research? N/A

Research Interests:

• The role of steroid hormones in brain development and cognitive behavior
• Interactions between environmental factors, the endocrine system and neural development
• Effects of endocrine disruptors on the mesocortical dopamine system

I am currently involved in several lines of research in the field of developmental neuroendocrinology. In one project, we are examining the synergistic effects of maternal infection and common endocrine-disrupting toxicants on development of the prefrontal cortex and executive functions in perinatally exposed offspring. Additionally, we are conducting another series of experiments aimed at assessing the effects of various agricultural practices on neurodevelopment and cognitive maturation. Third, we are interested in the developmental ontogeny of dopaminergic cells of the midbrain during adolescence, with a particular focus on how pubertal hormones regulate dopamine cell number.

Selected Publications:

Drzewiecki CM, Willing J, Cortes LR, Juraska JM (2021). Adolescent stress during, but not after, pubertal onset impairs indices of prepulse inhibition in adult rats. Accepted in Developmental Psychobiology, January 2021.

Willing J, Cortes LR, Brodsky, JM, Kim T, Juraska JM. (2017). Development of dopaminergic fibers in the medial prefrontal cortex of male and female rats during adolescence. Developmental Psychobiology, 59 (5), 583-589. PMID: 28561889

Willing J, Wagner CK. (2016). Exposure to the synthetic progestin 17α- hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) during development impairs cognitive flexibility in adulthood. Endocrinology, 157 (1), 77-82. PMID: 26556535

Newell AJ, Lalitsasivimol D, Willing J, Gonzales K, Waters EM, Milner TA, McEwen BS, Wagner CK. (2018). Progesterone receptor expression in Cajal-Retzius cells of the developing rat dentate gyrus: potential role in hippocampus-dependent memory. Journal of Comparative Neurology. PMID: 30069875

Courses Taught:

• PSYC 2700 Quantitative Methods I
• PSYC 3350 Psychoneuroendocrinology
• PSYC 4400 Developmental Psychobiology