Paul M. Forlano
Professor
Biology
Location: 115 Ingersoll Hall Extension
Phone: 718.951.5000 x6252
Fax: 718.951.4659
Email:
Paul M. Forlano's Web site
Before arriving at Brooklyn College, Paul Forlano held postdoctoral fellowships in neuroendocrinology at the Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, and in cellular neuroscience, in the Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University. He has a broad training in behavioral neuroscience, having pursued projects throughout his career that integrate one or more of the following levels of analysis: systems, cellular, molecular and genetic. His graduate training infused him with a passion for the neuroethological approach to science--studying the nervous system in the context of an animal's natural behavior.
Education:
Ph.D., Cornell University - 2005 (Neurobiology and Behavior)
M.S., Florida Institute of Technology - 1997 (Biological Sciences / Marine Biology)
B.S., Ursinus College - 1994 (Biology)
Areas of Expertise:
Using fish as model systems, Forlano's lab employs a combination of evolutionary/systems neuroscience with a cellular and molecular approach in order to identify neurochemical interactions in circuitry underlying auditory-driven social behavior, mechanisms of steroid-induced neural plasticity, and sex differences in brain and behavior. These studies largely focus on vocal, auditory and neuroendocrine circuits that are conserved across vertebrates.
Books and Publications
Ghahramani, Z.N., Perelmuter, J.T., Varughese, J., Kyaw, P., Palmer, W.C., Sisneros, J.A. and Forlano, P.M. "Activation of noradrenergic locus coeruleus and social behavior network nuclei varies with duration of male midshipman advertisement calls". Behavioural Brain Research. In press. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2022
NIH 1 R15 DC020327-01 2022- 2025 (Grants and Fellowships) 2022
Perelmuter, J.T., Sisneros, J.A. and Forlano, P.M. Dopamine seasonally modulates adaptive sensitivity of the inner ear for reproductive communication in a vocal fish. (Symposium: Sending and Receiving Signals: Endocrine Modulation of Social Communication, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Virtual Meeting) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021
Executive Committee, Ph.D. Subprogram in Neuroscience, CUNY Graduate Center 2015- present (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2015
Appointment to CUNY Graduate Center Faculty in Psychology, Program in Cognitive and Comparative Psychology 2021
Chagnaud, B.P., Perelmuter, J.T., Forlano, P.M. and Bass, A.H. "Gap junction-mediated glycinergic inhibition ensures precise temporal patterning in vocal behavior." eLife, 10:e59390. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2021
Perelmuter, J.T., Hom, K.N., Mohr, R.A., Demis, L., Kim, S.D., Chernenko, A, Timothy, M., Middleton, M., Sisneros, J.A., Forlano, P.M. "Testosterone treatment mimics seasonal downregulation of dopamine innervation in the auditory system of female midshipman fish." Integrative and Comparative Biology. 61: 269-282. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2021
Timothy, M. and Forlano, P.M. "Serotonin distribution in the brain of the plainfin midshipman: substrates for vocal-acoustic modulation and a reevaluation of the serotonergic system in teleost fishes". Cover article. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 528: 3451-3478. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2020
Perelmuter, J.T., Wilson, A.B., Sisneros, J.A. and Forlano, P.M. "Forebrain dopamine system regulates inner ear auditory sensitivity to socially relevant acoustic signals". Current Biology. 29: 2190-2198. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2019
Seeley, L.H., Forlano, P.M., Seeley, A.H., Sisneros, J.A. "Teaching acoustics in an interdisciplinary context with 'singing' fish". European Journal of Physics 40: 025801. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2019
Timothy, M. and Forlano, P.M. "A Versatile Macro-Based Neurohistological Image Analysis Suite for ImageJ Focused on Automated and Standardized User Interaction and Reproducible Data Output". Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 324: 108286. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2019
Ghahramani, Z.N., Timothy, M., Varughese, J., Sisneros, J.A., and Forlano, P.M. "Dopaminergic Neurons are Preferentially Responsive to Advertisement Calls and Co-active with Social Behavior Network Nuclei in Sneaker Male Midshipman Fish". Brain Research. 1701: 177-188. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2018
Mohr, R.A., Chang, Y., Bhandiwad, A.A., Forlano, P.M., and Sisneros, J.A. "Brain activation patterns in response to conspecific and heterospecific social signals in female plainfin midshipman fish, Poricthyths notatus". Cover article. Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 91: 31-44 (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2018
Forlano, P.M., Licorish, R.R., Ghahramani, Z.N., Timothy, M., Ferrari, M., Palmer, W.C. and Sisneros, J.A. "Attention and Motivated Response to Simulated Male Advertisement Call Activates Forebrain Dopaminergic and Social Decision-Making Network Nuclei in Female Midshipman Fish." Integrative and Comparative Biology 57: 820-834. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2017
Mohr, R.A., Whitchurch, E.A., Anderson, R.D., Forlano, P.M., Fay, R.R., Ketten, D.R., Cox, T.C. and Sisneros, J.A. "Intra- and Intersexual Swim Bladder Dimorphisms in the Plainfin Midshipman (Poricthyths notatus): Implications of Swim Bladder Proximity to the Inner Ear for Sound Pressure Detection." Journal of Morphology 278: 1458-1468. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2017
Perelmuter, J.T. and Forlano, P.M. "Connectivity and ultrastructure of dopaminergic innervation of the inner ear and auditory efferent system of a vocal fish." Journal of Comparative Neurology. 525:2090-2108. DOI: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cne.24177/full. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2017
Forlano, P. M., Maruska, K.M., Sisneros, J.A., and Bass, A.H. Hormone-dependent plasticity of auditory systems in fishes. In Hearing and Hormones. Eds. Sisneros, J.A., Bass, A.H., Popper, A.N. and Fay R.R. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research. Springer, New York. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2016
Forlano, P.M. and J.A. Sisneros. "Neuroanatomical evidence for catecholamines as modulators of audition and acoustic behavior in a vocal teleost." Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics: An Anthology in Honor of Arthur N. Popper and Richard R. Fay. Ed. J.A. Sisneros. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Series. New York: Springer. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2016
Forlano, P.M., J.A. Sisneros, K.N. Rohmann and A.H. Bass. "Neuroendocrine control of seasonal plasticity in the auditory and vocal systems of fish." Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. 37: 129-45. DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2014.08.002. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015
Forlano, P.M., Z.N. Ghahramani, C. Monestime, P. Kurochkin, A. Chernenko and D. Milkis. "Catecholaminergic innervation of central and peripheral auditory circuitry varies with reproductive state in female midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus." Public Library of Science ONE 10.4: e0121914. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121914. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015
Ghahramani, Z.N., M. Timothy, G. Kaur, M. Gorbonosov, A. Chernenko and P.M. Forlano. "Catecholaminergic fiber innervation of the vocal motor system is intrasexually dimorphic in a teleost with alternative reproductive tactics." Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 86: 131-144. DOI: 10.1159/000438720 (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015
Forlano, P.M., S.D. Kim, Z. Krzyminska and J.A. Sisneros. "Catecholaminergic Connectivity to the Inner Ear, Central Auditory and Vocal Motor Circuitry in the Plainfin Midshipman Fish, Porichthys notatus." Cover article. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 522: 2887-2927. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2014
Petersen, C.L., M. Timothy, S.D. Kim, A.A. Bhandiwad, R.A. Mohr, J.A. Sisneros and P.M. Forlano. "Exposure to Advertisement Calls of Reproductive Competitors Activates Vocal-Acoustic and Catecholaminergic Neurons in the Plainfin Midshipman Fish, Porichthys notatus." Public Library of Science ONE. 8.8: e70474. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0070474. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2013
Zhang, C., P.M. Forlano and R.D. Cone. "AgRP and POMC Neurons Are Hypophysiotropic and Coordinately Regulate Multiple Endocrine Axes in a Teleost." Cell Metabolism 15: 1-9. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2012
Forlano, P.M. and A.H. Bass. "Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms of Reproductive-related Arousal in Fishes." Hormones and Behavior 59: 616-29. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2011
Forlano, P.M. and C.S. Woolley. "Quantitative Analysis of Pre- and Postsynaptic Sex Differences in the Nucleus Accumbens." Journal of Comparative Neurology 518: 1330-48. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2010
Forlano, P.M., M. Marchaterre, D.L. Deitcher and A.H. Bass. "Neuroanatomical Distribution of Androgen Receptor mRNA in Vocal, Auditory and Neuroendocrine Circuits in a Teleost Fish." Journal of Comparative Neurology 518: 493-512. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2010
Snyder, M.A., T. Smejkalova, P.M. Forlano and C.S. Woolley. "Multiple ERβ Antisera Label in ERβ Knockout and Null Mouse Tissues." Journal of Neuroscience Methods 188: 226-34. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2010
Bass, A.H. and P.M. Forlano. "Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Alternative Reproductive Tactics: The Chemical Language of Social Plasticity." Alternative Reproductive Tactics: An Integrative Approach. Eds. R. Oliveira, M. Taborsky and J. Brockmann. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2008
Forlano, P.M. and R.D. Cone. "Conserved Neurochemical Pathways Involved in Hypothalamic Control of Energy Homeostasis." Cover article. Journal of Comparative Neurology 505: 235-48. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2007
Forlano, P.M., L.R. Remage-Healey, J.A. Sisneros and A.H. Bass. "Steroid-Induced Plasticity in the Auditory and Vocal Motor System: Recent Studies in a Teleost Fish." Evolutionary Molecular Strategies and Plasticity. Eds. M. Canonaco and R.M. Facciolo. New Delhi: Research Signpost. (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2007
Forlano, P.M., B.A. Schlinger and A.H. Bass. "Brain Aromatase: New Lessons from Non-Mammalian Model Systems." Cover article. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 27: 247-74. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2006
Forlano, P.M. and A.H. Bass. "Seasonal Plasticity of Brain Aromatase mRNA Expression in Glia: Divergence across Sex and Vocal Phenotypes." Cover article. Journal of Neurobiology 65: 37-49. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2005
Forlano, P.M. and A.H. Bass. "Steroid Regulation of Brain Aromatase Expression in Glia: Female Preoptic and Vocal Motor Nuclei." Journal of Neurobiology 65: 50-58. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2005
Forlano, P.M., D.L. Deitcher and A.H. Bass. "Distribution of Estrogen Receptor Alpha mRNA in the Brain and Inner Ear of a Vocal Fish with Comparisons to Sites of Aromatase Expression." Journal of Comparative Neurology 483: 91-113. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2005
Sisneros, J.A., P.M. Forlano, D.L. Deitcher and A.H. Bass. "Steroid-Dependent Auditory Plasticity Leads to Adaptive Coupling of Sender and Receiver." Science 305: 404-07. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2004
Sisneros, J.A., P.M. Forlano, R. Knapp and A.H. Bass. "Seasonal Variation of Steroid Hormone Levels in an Intertidal-Nesting Fish, the Vocal Plainfin Midshipman." Cover article. General and Comparative Endocrinology 136: 101-16. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2004
Forlano, P.M., D.L. Deitcher, D.A. Myers and A.H. Bass. "Anatomical Distribution and Cellular Basis for High Levels of Aromatase Activity in the Brain of Teleost Fish: Aromatase Enzyme and mRNA Expression Identify Glia as Source." Journal of Neuroscience 21: 8943-55. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2001
Forlano, P.M., K.P. Maruska, S.A. Sower, J.A. King and T.C. Tricas. "Differential Distribution of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-Immunoreactive Neurons in the Stingray Brain: Functional and Evolutionary Considerations." Cover article. General and Comparative Endocrinology 118: 226-48. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2000
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
NIH R25 NS114326-0, 2020- 2026, Blueprint Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences (BP-ENDURE): "Brooklyn (Neural) NETS (Neuroscience Education and Training for Scientists)." (Grants and Fellowships) 2020
Leonard and Claire Tow Professorship, 2018-2021 (Awards and Honors) 2018
NSF IOS 1456743, 2015-2022, "Collaborative Research: Mechanisms of sound source localization underlying an ancestral mode of vertebrate hearing " (Grants and Fellowships) 2015
Erik B. Fries Endowed Fellowship Fund Award, the H. Keffer Hartline and Edward MacNichol, Jr. Fellowship Award, and the Laura and Arthur Colwin Endowed Summer Research Fellowship Fund Award to support summer research at the Marine Biological Laboratory's Whitman Center, Woods Hole, Mass. (Awards and Honors) 2012
NIH SC2DA034996, 2012- 2015, "Steroid-catecholamine-brain interactions in auditory-driven social behavior " (Grants and Fellowships) 2012
Leonard and Claire Tow Faculty Travel Fellowship, to conduct research at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Bodega Bay, Calif. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010
NIH Individual Postdoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA) F32 DA025449, Northwestern University (Grants and Fellowships) 2008
Young Investigator Award, International Meeting on Steroids and Nervous System. (Awards and Honors) 2007
Scholarship award, to attend "Neural Development and Genetics of Zebrafish" course. Marine Biological Laboratory. Woods Hole, Mass. (Grants and Fellowships) 2006
NIH Postdoctoral Training Grant in Neuroendocrinology, 5 T32 DK007680, Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, 2005-06. (Grants and Fellowships) 2005
Young Investigator Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. (Awards and Honors) 2004
Graduate Student Poster Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. (Awards and Honors) 2003
NIMH Predoctoral Training Grant in Integrative Neurobiology, 2 T32 MH015793, Cornell University, 1999-2004. (Grants and Fellowships) 1999
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
Evidence for monoamines as neurochemical substrates underlying alternative reproductive tactics. (Special Session: Celebrating the Scientific Contributions of Rosemary Knapp: Hormones and Alternative Reproductive Tactics, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Austin, Tx) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2020
Evidence for dopaminergic forebrain efferents as modulators of seasonal peripheral auditory sensitivity in a vocal fish. (Symposium: Inner Ear Efferents: Form and Function, Association for Research in Otolaryngology MidWinter Meeting, Baltimore, MD) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019
A vocal fish model system for investigating the role of dopamine in auditory-driven social behavior (Department of Biology, College of Staten Island, CUNY) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
Catecholamines and circuits underlying auditory-driven social behavior: insights from a vocal fish. (Department of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018
Brain monoamines and circuits underlying auditory-driven social behavior: insights from a vocal fish. (CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative Colloquium) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
Forlano, P.M. Evidence for dopaminergic forebrain neurons as modulators of seasonal peripheral auditory sensitivity in a vocal fish. (Symposium in Honor of Art Popper and Tony Hawkins: Acoustical Society of America, Boston, MA) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
Forlano, P.M. Roles for dopamine in peripheral auditory sensitivity and motivation for mate localization in a vocal fish. (Symposium: Integrating Cognitive, Motivational and Sensory Biases Underlying Acoustic and Multimodal Mate Choice, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, New Orleans, LA) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
Forlano, P.M. Neurochemical substrates of auditory-driven social behavior: insights from a vocal fish. (Seminar for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Columbia University) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
"Attention to sound: from brain to social behavior in a sexually dimorphic vocal fish." (The first annual Schreibman Lecture in Integrative Biology, CUNY Brooklyn College) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Brain monoamines and circuits underlying auditory-driven social behavior: insights from a vocal fish." (Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Neuroanatomical Evidence for Catecholamines as Modulators of Auditory-Driven Social Behavior in a Vocal Fish." Jim Goodson Memorial Symposium, Animal Behavior Conference. Indiana University. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Steroid Hormones and Catecholamines: Neurochemical Substrates for Modulation of Audition and Acoustic Social Behavior in a Vocal Fish." Biology Colloquium. Hofstra University. Hempstead, N.Y. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
Forlano, P.M. Brain monoamines and circuits underlying auditory-driven social behavior: insights from a vocal fish. (Invited speaker, Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
Neuroanatomical evidence for catecholamines as modulators of auditory-driven social behavior in a vocal fish. ( J.B. Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscience, Chicago, IL) (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
"Neurochemical Substrates for Modulation of Audition and Acoustic Behavior in a Vocal Fish." Neuroscience Colloquium. Bowdoin College. Brunswick, Maine. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2014
"Neurochemical Substrates for Modulation of Auditory-Driven Social Behavior in a Vocal Fish." Biology Colloquium. Ursinus College. Collegeville, PA. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2014
"Steroids and Monoamines: Substrates for Neuromodulation of Audition and Acoustic Social Behavior in a Vocal Fish." Biology Colloquium. St. John's University, Queens, N.Y. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2014
"Neural Substrates for Modulation of Audition and Acoustic Behavior in a Vocal Teleost." Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2013
"Neurochemical and Neuroanatomical Substrates Underlying Auditory-driven Social Behavior in a Vocal Fish." 1st annual CUNY Animal Behavior Initiative (CABI) Conference. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"Neurochemical Substrates Underlying Plasticity in Brain and Social Behavior: Studies in a Vocal Fish." Neuroscience Colloquium. SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Brooklyn, N.Y. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012
"Neurochemical Substrates for Modulation of Vocal-acoustic Circuitry and Behavior in a Teleost Fish." Department of Biology, City College (CUNY). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011
Forlano, P.M., M. Marchaterre, D.L. Deitcher and A.H. Bass. "Substrates for Vocal-Acoustic Plasticity: Neuroestrogen and Steroid Hormone Receptor Expression in Midshipman Fish." Fish Bioacoustics: Sensory Biology, Sound Production and Behavior of Acoustic Communication in Fishes. Acoustical Society of America. Portland, Ore. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2009
"Fish as Model Systems for Steroidal Influences on Brain and Behavior." Department of Biology, University of Toronto at Scarborough. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
Forlano, P.M. and A.H. Bass. "Substrates for Plasticity: Brain Aromatase, Estrogen and Androgen Receptors in Sexually Dimorphic, Vocal-Acoustic and Auditory Pathways in a Teleost Fish." Trab. Inst. Cajal. 81: 99-100. Young Investigator Symposium, International Meeting on Steroids and Nervous System. Torino, Italy. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2007
"Brain Aromatase Expression in a Vocal Fish With Alternative Reproductive Morphs." Hormones and Behavior 46: 130. Young Investigator Symposium. Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. Lisbon, Portugal. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2004
Professional Leadership
Associate Director, Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center, Brooklyn College. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2009
Other Professional Activities
Appointment to CUNY Graduate Center Faculty in Psychology, Program in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. 2013
Appointment to CUNY Graduate Center Faculty in Biology, Subprogram in Neuroscience. 2011
Appointment to CUNY Graduate Center in Biology, Subprogram in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior. 2010
