“I am gratified and honored to be counted among the distinguished scholars that make up this eminent membership,” said Gallistel. “It is a source of pride as well as encouragement for my research.”
An international leader in the study of animal cognition, Gallistel has a joint faculty appointment to the department of psychology of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick and the Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science.
“Professor Gallistel’s election to the academy recognizes his research excellence and brings distinction to our university,” said Joseph J. Seneca, university vice president for academic affairs. “His investigations in the newest domains of cognitive science are major scientific advancements.”
Gallistel is credited with introducing the idea that animals have the ability to think computationally, as in counting and timing events. This enables the animals to better navigate their world and anticipate events. His most recent research focuses on how animals learn and remember.
He established the Behavioral Genetics of Memory Laboratory at Rutgers to explore how memory works at the molecular level. He is developing a behavioral screen to pick out mice with genetic abnormalities that cause them to remember incorrectly. Gallistel hopes to isolate the gene that causes the mutation to figure out how memories are formed and retained, and, ultimately, how the mechanisms of memory work.
Gallistel holds a doctorate from Yale University and is a fellow of both the Society of Experimental Psychologists and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is founding co-editor of Current Directions in Psychological Science and is a member of the American Psychological Society, the Society for Neuroscience and the International Society for Neuroethology. His latest book, “The Symbolic Foundation of Conditioned Behavior,” has just been published.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to furthering science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by an act of Congress signed by Abraham Lincoln.