In the Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychophysiology lab, our research focus is the investigation of pain using cognitive, behavioral, and electrophysiological methods, especially EEG. Our primary research focus is the nervous system acitvites associated with the sensory and affective dimensions of pain and pain approach-avoidance conflicts. We have also investigated the effects of cannabinoids as analgesics. A key focus in the lab is the mentorship of trainees in research, in preperation for careers in neuroscience, psychology, and related fields.
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We are currently recruiting research participants with chronic knee osteoarthritis. For more information on our NIH study, please click HERE.
Current Lab Members
Dr. Amber Harris Bozer
Principal Investigator
Amber Harris Bozer is currently an Associate Professor of Neuroscience. She earned a BS in Psychology (2008) and an MS in Educational and Experimental Psychology (2010) at Tarleton State University under the mentorship of Drs. Jason Lyons and Robert Newby. At the University of Texas at Arlington, she obtained an MS (2013) and a PhD (2015) in Experimental Psychology with a focus on Neuroscience and Health Psychology under the mentorship of Drs. Perry Fuchs and Yuan Bo Peng. During her graduate studies, her primary focus was the development of novel, multi-dimensional preclinical pain assays and the investigation of local field potentials that underlie the multidimensional nature of pain. In the Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychophysiology lab at Tarleton, the current research focus is to explore the cortical mechanisms that underlie the multidimensional pain experience in humans (including pain approach-avoidance) and the cortical mechanisms of cannabinoid analgesia using EEG. Link to Google Scholar
Dr. Swathi Suresh, Postdoc
More soon!
Heinz Stolz
Heinz joined the lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Fall of 2025. He is pursuing dual degrees, a BS in Psychology with a Pre-Clinical focus and a BS in Neuroscience at Tarleton State University. Within the lab, he contributes to an ongoing NIH-funded research project investigating pain processing and is actively engaged in the collection and processing of EEG data, acquiring hands-on experience with advanced neuroimaging methodologies and quantitative data analysis. His academic and research interests center on behavioral neuroscience and neuropsychology, with a particular focus on consciousness, perception, memory, executive function, and the neural mechanisms that underlie cognition and behavior.
Hannah Ford
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Katie Malavar
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Madison Wirtz
Madison Wirtz is currently a sophomore at Tarleton State University, working as a volunteer in the lab. She’s looking to get a BS in Neuroscience from Texas A&M, then further pursue her PhD. In Dr. Bozer’s lab, she is a part of the NIH chronic pain study, looking at correlations between the galvanic skin response and EEG activity during pain processing. She is also part of the first group of students to participate in the TAMIN/Tarleton Pathways to the Doctorate Bridge Program, where she worked at Texas A&M in Dr. Rachel Smith’s lab studying addictive behavior and optogenetics. In her future, she is looking to continue doing research on neuropharmacology or pain, or potentially even moving into the medical field.
Bryten Ballenger
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Anna Ronck, BS
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Ava Norris
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Lauren Rowden
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Sarah Love
Sarah joined the lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Fall of 2022 and advanced to serve as Lead Student and Lab Manager beginning in the Fall of 2024. She is a double major, pursuing a BS in Psychology and Biology with a minor in Neuroscience at Tarleton State University. She is involved in multiple EEG research projects examining pain processing, empathy, and cognitive-affective mechanisms of chronic pain. Sarah's honors thesis is titled, “Exploring the Interplay of Empathy and Pain Perception in Romantic Relationships". Her research interests also extend to neurodegeneration and aging, with a growing focus on mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Previous Lab Members
Simone Dickson, MS
Simone has a BS in General Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from Tarleton State University. Simone joined the lab in the Fall of 2022, and completed a thesis in the MS in Applied Psychology program titled "Investigating Biological Sex Differences in Pain Catastrophizing Among Chronic Pain Participants Using Cannabis". Simone works in Health and Human Services.
Nichol (Nikki) Civitello, MS
Nikki has a BA in Neuroscience and a minor in Creative Writing from CU Boulder where she worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Donaldson lab. She joined the lab in 2022 as a MS Applied Psychology Student, completing a MS thesis titled "Investigating the Cortical Activity Associated With the Impact of Acute Pain on Working Memory Using EEG". Nikki also worked on a collaborative study between our lab and Animal Sciences, collecting EEG data from horses. A dedicated teacher (Graduate Teaching Assistant), she has co-authored a manuscript about a neuroscience OER, She is currently working on her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at UT Arlington, under the mentorship of Dr. Crystal Cooper, using various neuroimaging methods (EEG, MEG, MRI).
Isabella (Bella) Casmedes, MS
Isabella has a BS in General Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from Tarleton State University. Isabella joined the lab in 2022 as a MS Applied Psychology Student. Bella collected pilot data for an NIH grant on the neural activities associated with pain dimensionality, an EEG study investigating the brain activity associated with the use of cannabis use for pain, and completed a thesis titled "Exploring the Neural Oscillations at the Intersection of Pain, Tetrahydrocannabinol, and Attention: An EEG Study." Additionally, Bella was instrumental in rebuilding the lab in our new space after we experienced a lab flood and moved. She is currently a neuroscience PhD student at The University of Texas at Dallas, in the lab of Dr. Michael Burton. She is investigating cannabinoid signalling and pain.
Colton Sims, MS
Colton completed a thesis in the lab titled "Investigating the Role of Auditory Cues on Pain Catastrophizing" and graduated from Tarleton State University with a MS in Applied Psychology in the Spring of 2022. Colton currently works in industry and is studying business.
Simon Rook, MS
Simon joined the lab in 2021 as a MS student in Applied Psychology, and has investigated empathy as a moderator of pain altruism. Simon's thesis study was aimed at investigating a novel approach-avoidance paradigm- "Validation of the Approach-Avoidance Paradigm: Investigating Differences in Risk Preference Between Chronic Pain and Pain-Free Subjects." Simon works in industry and also holds a post-graduate certificate in Data Science and Business Analytics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Katie Seymour, MS
Former UG Student Lab Member
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Kathryn joined the lab in 2018 as an Undergraduate Research Assistant focused on investigations of pain and cannabis using EEG. After graduating with a BS in Biomedical Science and minor in Neuroscience at Tarleton State University, Katie went on to graduate school to study Biomedical Science at Wake Forest University while interning in neurology. Katie is currently a Clinical Research Coordinator at ACRC.
Kayli Colpitts, MS
Kayli joined the lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in 2018. After graduating with a BS in Psychology and minor in Biology from Tarleton State University, Kayli served as a Graduate Research Assistant, Lab Manager, and Thesis Student in the lab. Kayli worked on a number of projects in the lab investigating EEG outcomes related to pain approach-avoidance and cannabis and pain. Kayli's thesis was titled "Investigation of the Relationship between Mental Workload and Chronic Pain." After graduating with a MS in Applied Psychology from Tarleton State University, Kayli went on to work as a Data Analyst then Neurosurgery Research Coordinator at The University of New Mexico in Albequerque. Kayli is currently in the PhD program at Texas A&M Institute of Neuroscience studying spinal cord injury. Hear Kayli talk about conducting research as an undergrad here.
Kody Lamb, MS
Kody completed a thesis from 2017-2018 titled "Collegiate Rodeo Athletes and Concussions" (see a spotlight here). Fun facts: Kody was the first graduate of the MS in Applied Psychology program and was also selected to give the graduation speech (watch here). Kody is a professional rodeo athlete.
Cristian Botello, MS​​
Cristian joined the lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in 2017. After graduating with a BS in Psychology from Tarleton State University, Cristian served as a Graduate Research Assistant, Lab Manager, and Thesis Student. Cristian worked on a number of projects in the lab investigating EEG outcomes related to pain approach-avoidance, cannabis and pain, and pain altruism. Cristian's thesis was titled "The Effects of Chronic Pain and Empathy on an Individual's Moral Motivation." After graduating with a MS in Applied Psychology from Tarleton State University, Cristian has been a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he is completing research in neuroscience and learning to practice clinical psychology.
Callie (Bland) de la Cerda, MA
Callie joined the lab in 2016 as an Undergraduate Research Assistant focused on investigations of pain approach-avoidance using EEG. After graduating with a BS in Psychology at Tarleton State, Callie went on to graduate from Texas State University with a Masters degree in Psychological Research where she studied under Katherine Rice Warnell, completing a thesis titled 'The Effect of Group Membership on Social Behavior in Young Children." Callie then studied as a graduate student at The University of Texas at Dallas. Callie has worked as an Instructor of Psychology at Texas State Technical College in Waco and is currently also an adjunct professor at Tarleton State University in the Department of Psychological Sciences. ​
Tracy Brown, MS
Tracy joined the lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in 2016. After graduating with a BS in Psychology at Tarleton State, Tracy was as a Graduate Research Assistant, Lab Manager, and Thesis Student in the lab. Tracy worked on a number of projects in the lab investigating EEG outcomes related to pain approach-avoidance, cannabis and pain, and pain altruism. Tracy's thesis was titled "Investigating Chronic Pain in a Work Setting Using Electroencephalography and an Approach Avoidance Task." After graduating with a MS in Applied Psychology, Tracy was an Adjunct Professor at Tarleton State University in the Department of Psychological Sciences. He is currently a doctoral student at UT Dallas under the mentorship of Dr. Francesca Filbey investigating pain, sleep, and cannabis. He is one of the first faculty members of the Department of Neuroscience at Tarleton, where he currently serves as a Visiting Instructor.
Abby Hartman, MS
Abby joined the lab as the first Undergraduate Research Assistant in 2016 when the EEG lab opened. She focused on assisting with the set-up of our first EEG, and investigations of pain approach-avoidance. Abby also served as the Lab Manager before graduating with a BS in Psychology from Tarleton State University. Abby went on to graduate from Southern Methodist University with a Masters Degree in Counseling. Abby was instrumental in starting up the lab and will always hold a special place in our hearts.