Valeria González Díaz
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Behavioral neuroscience, animal learning and behavior, comparative cognition
2020-2024, Postdoctoral fellow, University of California Los Angeles
2020, Ph.D. in Basic Psychology, University of Minho (Braga, Portugal)
2014, B.S. in Psychology, University of Chile (Santiago, Chile)
Research
I am a behavioral neuroscientist with a broad interest in how animals make decisions.
My research focuses on understanding the fundamentals and common mechanisms of 'rational' or 'irrational' behaviors. Taking advantage of the intersection of my training in psychology, ecology and neuroscience, I applied a multilevel approach to study the brain and behavior across species. At Reed, I investigate how decisions are made involving risk and information-seeking, and how the use of alcohol affects decision-making (for more information, visit my lab website).
Teaching
My courses include PSY 201- Methods in psychology: Brain & Behavior, PSY 333- Behavioral Neuroscience, PSY 218 - Neuroscience & Ethics and PSY 338- Psychopharmacology.
Select publications
González, V. V., Zhang, Y., Ashikyan, S., Rickard, A., Yassine, I., Blaisdell, A.P. & Izquierdo, A. (2024). A special role for Anterior Cingulate Cortex, but not Orbitofrontal Cortex or Basolateral Amygdala, in choices involving information. Cerebral Cortex. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae135
González, V. V., Sadeghi, S., Tran, L., & Blaisdell, A. (2023). Conjunction fallacy in rats. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02251-z
González, V. V. & Blaisdell, A. P. (2023). Inhibition and Paradoxical Choice. Learning and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13420-023-00584-2