PSICOBIOLOGIA
The Post Graduation Program in Psychobiology is one of the pioneers at UFRN and the Brazilian Northeast, the first in this region of the country. In 2020 the program completed 35 years old. Over the years, our program has become a reference in the area, recording growing interest of from people from related areas programs, including universities and research institutes throughout Brazil. As a proof of its referential condition, the program has received increasing number of masters’ and PhD’s candidates who completed their undergraduate or master's degree in other states (more than 1/3 of the students board) or abroad (Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, South Africa).
Throughout the program consolidation, and especially from the 90’s, much of the work performed has focused on the study of animal behavior and the biological and physiological bases of behavior. The increased emphasis on these issues resulted in the use of various animal species as experimental subjects, diversifying experimental approaches and theoretical models. As a result, the variety of studied species, comprising invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, including humans, has raised the search interested of students, as well as the possibilities of new partnerships with universities, colleges, state and private enterprises inside and outside Brazil, and also acquisition of financial support for the researchers.
Currently, the research lines in Physiological Psychology and Behavior Studies are all consolidated in full course, gathering, in addition to masters and PhD students, a significant number of undergraduate and post-doctoral students. It is also important to note that many research groups that make up the Program count on professors qualified as CNPq productivity fellows. Finally, the full consolidation of our research groups can be seen by the high degree internationalization of the Program, in terms of the publication in good international journals, cooperation with researchers from several foreign institutions, and internships for students and researchers from different institutions, which currently gives the evaluation level 6 by CAPES.