Eric Wiertelak

Dr. Wiertelak has entered the MSFEO program. Previous activities in the Wiertelak research laboratory were the investigation of traditional diet and the onset and progression of neurological conditions, and the neural correlates of dance and dance performance. Recent projects include examination of traditional medicines and pain relief, and physiological correlates of observing dance differentiated by experience level. For further information on this general topic in neuroscience, see:

The Neuroscience of Dance ; July 2008; Scientific American Magazine; by Steven Brown and Lawrence M. Parsons; 6 Page(s)
The Dancing Brain ; April 2003; Cerebrum; by Ivar Hagendoorn; 12 Page(s)

Wiertelak is a member of both the Psychology and Neuroscience faculty and served as Director of Macalester’s Neuroscience program and the earlier Neuroscience Studies major program. A past-president of Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (the international organization devoted to neuroscience education and research at the undergraduate level), he is a behavioral neuroscientist. He currently serves on the Public Education and Communication Committee of the Society for Neuroscience, is the Director of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Program and Department Consultations Service, and serves as a previous editor in chief and Editorial Board member of the Journal of Undergraduate Neurocience Education. His lab had several areas of focus: 1) The systematic investigation of the claimed psychoactive and therapeutic effects of traditional diet, natural remedies and aromatherapeutic agents. This work received funding from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. 2) Behavioral and physiological research to investigate how environmental stressors and learning impact on neurophysiological response mechanisms, such as pain modulation. This work received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. 3) Behavioral and electrophysiolological research to investigate the neural systems involved in the organization of a variety of motor and cognitive aspects of dance and dance performance (hip-hop, modern, and ballroom). He offered courses related to behavioral neuroscience, sensation, principles of learning and more.

Education

BA: University of Central Florida

MA: University of Colorado, Boulder

PhD: University of Colorado, Boulder