Brent C. White

BIOGRAPHY

Brent White is a professor emeritus of psychology at Centre College, where he has held the Matton Professorship since 1996. A member of the Centre faculty since 1971, he has chaired the psychology program, the psychobiology program, and the division of sciences and mathematics.

White has particular expertise in physiological psychology and animal behavior, and he has developed a strong working relationship with the Louisville Zoo. The zoo had one of the most successful captive groups of breeding woolly monkeys, and White received several grants that funded in-depth observation and research with the colony. He has contributed to the understanding of stress, reproduction, and longevity of these monkeys in captivity.

At the zoo’s request, White serves on its research committee and continues to pursue field studies among the animals there. On a national scale, White was president and a founding director of the Woolly Monkey Foundation which supported the understanding and protection of woolly monkeys and their habitat with a primary focus on the Colombian Amazon region.

On the Centre campus, White is a dedicated and thorough teacher. From the time he joined the faculty, he has encouraged collaborative scientific research between students and faculty in animal behavior, psychopharmacology, neuroethology. Most recently this work has assessed cortisol as a correlate of behavior in gorillas, elephants, and bears.

White has published research in refereed journals including Science, Primates, Zoo Biology, Journal of Zoo & Aquarium Research, American Journal of Primatology Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology and Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior. White holds a B.A. from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

AWARDS AND GRANTS

National Science Foundation Faculty Fellowship Award, 1979-80 The Good Egg Award, Louisville Zoo, for contributions to conservation and research, 1986/1987 2003 Outstanding College/University Teacher Award, Kentucky Academy of Science The Good Egg Award, Louisville Zoo, for volunteer service and dedication to fulfilling the mission of the Zoo, 2016 Foundation Award from the Louisville Zoo Foundation, Inc. for supporting the mission of the Zoo, 2016

National Science Foundation Instructional Equipment Grant, 1977-79, project director National Science Foundation Local Course Improvement Grant, 1978-80, project director National Science Foundation College Scientific Instrumentation Program, 1985-87 Nixon-Griffiths Fund for Zoological Research, New York Zoological Society: Behavioral Markers of Stress in Captive Woolly Monkeys, August 1986-1988, Project Director Institute of Museum Services, Conservation Project: Behavioral Markers of Stress in Captive Woolly Monkeys, September 1986-1987, Project Director Kentucky EPSCoR Visiting Scholar Grant: Urinary Cortisol Assessment and Social Behavior in Captive Woolly Monkeys, June 1988. National Science Foundation Academic Infrastructure Grant, 1995-96, project director National Science Foundation ILI Grant, 1997-99

AFFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

American Association for the Advancement of Science
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
American Society of Primatologists

COURSES TAUGHT

Animal Behavior
Physiological Psychology
Drugs Brain & Behavior
Tobacco Nicotine & Society
Natural Science-Life Science

PUBLICATIONS

Campbell, B. A., J. R. Misanin, L. D. Lytle, and B. C. White. Species differences in ontogeny of memory: Indirect support for neural maturation as a determinant of forgetting. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1974, 87, 193-303.

White B. C. and W. N. Tapp. Unilateral catecholamine depletion of the corpus striatum and amphetamine-induced turning behavior: An ontogenetic study. Psychopharmacology, 1977, 53, 211-212.

White, B. C., C. C. Simpson, E. Adams, and D. Harkins, Jr., Monoamine synthesis and caffeine-induced locomotor activity. Neuropharmacology, 1978, 17, 511-513.

White, B. C., C. A. Lincoln, N. W. Pearce, R. Reeb, and C. Vaida. Anxiety and muscle tension as consequences of caffeine withdrawal. Science, 1980, 209, 1547-1548.

Garcia, J., D. F. Quick, and B. White. Conditioned disgust and fear from mollusk to monkey. In D. L. Alkon and J. Farley (eds.) Primary Neural Substrates of Learning and Behavioral Change. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

White, B. C., K. L. Haswell, C. D. Kassab, D. Harkins, Jr., and P. M. Crumbie. Caffeine reduces amphetamine-induced activity in asymmetrical interaction. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior, 1984, 20, 387-389.

White, B. C. and G. Keller, III. Caffeine pretreatment: Enhancement and attenuation of d-amphetamine-induced activity. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior, 1984, 20, 383-386.

White, B. C. and F. D. Mason. Caffeine-induced taste aversion and mimetic responses. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior, 1985, 23, 515-518.
Stearns, M, B. C. White, E. Schneider, and E. Bean. Bird Predation by Captive Woolly Monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha). Primates, 1988, 29:361-367.
White, B. C., S. E. Dew, J. Prather, E. Schneider, S. Taylor, and M. Stearns. Chest-rubbing in captive woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha). Primates, 2000, 41:185-188.

White, B.C., L.A.Houser, J.A. Fuller, S. Taylor, and J.L.L. Elliott. Activity-based exhibition of five mammalian species: Evaluation of behavioral changes. Zoo Biology, 2003, 22:269-285.

White, B.C., J.E. Beare, J.A. Fuller, and L.A. Houser. Social spacing in a Bachelor Group of Captive Woolly Monkeys. Neotropical Primates, 2003, 11:35-38.

White, B.C., K.M. Jamison, C. Grieb, D. Lally, C. Luckett, K. S. Kramer, J. Phillips. Specific Gravity and Creatinine as Corrections for Variation in Urine Concentration in Humans, Gorillas, and Woolly Monkeys. American Journal of Primatology, 2010, 72:1082-1091.

White, B.C. and S. Zirkelbach. Behavior and Husbandry of a Captive Group of Woolly Monkeys: A Case Study. In T.R. Defler and P.R. Stevenson (Ed.) The Woolly Monkey: Behavior, Ecology, Systematics, and Captive Research. New York: Springer, 2014.

White, Brent C., Corinne Koslowski, Steven R. Taylor, Jane Anne Franklin, and Roy Burns. Faecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations during ACTH Challenge Tests in Captive Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos horribilus) and Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus). Journal of Zoo & Aquarium Research, 2015, 3:59-62.

White, Brent C., Steven R. Taylor, Zoltan S. Gyimesi, Cristin L. Rieskamp, William Sarros, Steve D. Burton, II. Serum Cortisol Concentrations Associated with Artificial Insemination Events in an African Elephant (Loxodonta africana). Journal of Zoo & Aquarium Research, 2019, 7:134-137.