Quinnipiac University
Joshua Lewis Haight

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Welcomes Media Inquiries
Joshua Haight joined Quinnipiac University in 2019 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. He received his B.A. in Psychology from Connecticut College in 2009, and then went to work as a research assistant for two years in the Dyslexia Research Lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. He received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan in 2016, where he worked in the lab of Dr. Shelly Flagel studying the neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in Pavlovian conditioning, and received funding from a National Institute of Drug Abuse NRSA award. After graduate school, he completed his postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. Nii Addy at Yale University, studying the neural circuitry of depression-related behaviors. Dr. Haight teaches courses in the psychology and behavioral neuroscience majors, including Introduction to Psychology, Physiological Psychology, and Drugs, Brain & Behavior. Dr. Haight also supervises research students and runs a research program on campus studying the neural mechanisms of motivation in healthy and diseased states.

Education

  • MS, University of Michigan
  • PHD, University of Michigan

Areas of Expertise

  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Motivation
  • Depression

Organization

  • Psychology

Office Location

  • The Site 176

Mail Drop

  • SI-TE1

Experience

Quinnipiac University

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Hamden, CT

2019 - Present

Yale University

Postdoctoral Associate in Psychiatry

New Haven, CT

2016 - 2019

University of Michigan

Graduate Student, Neuroscience Graduate Program

Ann Arbor, MI

2011 - 2016

Selected Publications

Conference Presentation

The effects of early life propofol exposure on anxiety and memory behavior in rats

Anwar, AI., Haight, JL.

The 38th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2025)

Conference Presentation

Investigating the role of the paraventricular thalamus to nucleus accumbens pathway in Pavlovian-conditioned approach behavior

Pantalena, TM., Haight, JL.

The 38th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2025)

Conference Presentation

The effects of early-life stress in male and female rats on effort-choice testing in adolescence and adulthood

Miller, JN., Metjahic, E., Pantalena, TM., Mathews, JR., Feist, TA., Lovinski-Millien, MK., St. Clair, OT., Van Blarcom, HG., Betz, AJ., Haight, JL.

The 37th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2024)

Conference Presentation

Assessing differences in PVT activation in a rodent model of depression.

Pantalena, TM., Mathews, JR., Arceta, JM., Miller, JN., Anwar, AI., Banner, DE., Bissell, EM., Fofana, AN., Sipper, CR., Van Blarcom, HG., Whitney, AA., Haight, JL.

The 37th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2024)

Conference Presentation

Investigating the effects of orexin receptor antagonism in effort-related choice behaviors in rodents

Van Blarcom, HG., Miller, JN., Pantalena, TM., Mathews, JR., St. Clair, OT., Lovinski-Millien, MK., Whitney, AA., Haight, JL.

The 37th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2024)

Peer Reviewed Presentations

Examining the effects of orexin receptor 1 and orexin receptor 2 antagonism on effort-based decision making in male and female rats

Van Blarcom, HG., Miller, JN., Pantalena, TM., Haight, JL.

Society for Neuroscience 2024 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Society for Neuroscience (2024)

Peer Reviewed Poster

Sex differences in maternally separated rats on different effort-related decision making tasks

Miller, JN., Pantalena, TM., Mathews, JR., Van Blarcom, HG., Metjahic, E., Betz, AJ., Haight, JL.

Society for Neuroscience 2024 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Society for Neuroscience (2024)

Peer Reviewed Poster

The 37th Northeast Undergraduate and Graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) conference held at Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine in North Haven, CT

Betz, AJ., Tanner, GR., Haight, JL., Ecevitoglu, A., Rotolo, RA., Schmidt, K., Kwan, AC.

Society for Neuroscience 2024 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Society for Neuroscience (2024)

Peer Reviewed Journal

Ventral tegmental area M5 muscarinic receptors mediate effort-choice responding and nucleus accumbens dopamine in a sex specific manner

Nunes, E., Kebede, N., Haight, J., Foster, D., Lindsley, C., Conn, P., Addy, N.

385 The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 146-156 May (2023)

Conference Presentation

The effects of early life stress on orexin receptor expression in reward-related brain areas

O'Connor, L., Zarin, T., Betz, A., Haight, J.

The 36th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2023)

Conference Presentation

Lipopolysaccharide administration reduces effort to work for a preferred reward in male and female rats

O'Connor, L., Bissell, E., Cho, M., Jack, H., Miller, J., Pantalena, T., Van Blarcom, H., Zanesky, C., Haight, J.

The 36th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2023)

Conference Presentation

The long-term effects of social enrichment on the development of anxiety and effort-choice behavior in rodents

Cho, M., Zanesky, C., Miller, J., Pantalena, T., Patel, D., O'Connor, L., Haight, J., Betz, A.

The 36th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2023)

Peer Reviewed Poster

Assessing sex differences in inflammation-induced deficits in effort-related decision making

O'Connor, L., Bissell, E., Cho, M., Jack, H., Miller, J., Pantalena, T., Van Blarcom, H., Zanesky, C., Haight, J.

Society for Neuroscience 2023 Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Society for Neuroscience (2023)

Conference Presentation

Maternal separation induces anhedonia-like behavior in male and female rats

Miller, JN., Metjahic, E., Betz, AJ., Haight, JL.

Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Poster Session at the Society for Neuroscience 2023 Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (2023)

Peer Reviewed Poster

The 36th Northeast Undergraduate and Graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) conference held at Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine in North Haven, CT

Haight, JL., Betz, AJ., Shansky, RM., Ecevitoglu, A., Francone, VP., Kline, EM., Rotolo, RA., Tanner, GR., Yang, J-H., Ahern, TH.

Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC (2023)

Conference Presentation

Exploring the role of the paraventricular thalamus, and potential sex differences, in a preclinical model of depression

Van Blarcom, H., Arceta, J., Bissell, E., Haight, J.

The 35th Annual NEURON Conference, North Haven, CT (2022)

Peer Reviewed Poster

The 35th northeast undergraduate and graduate research organization for neuroscience (NEURON) conference held at Quinnipiac University's Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine in North Haven, CT

Betz., A., Rotolo, R., Tanner, G., Ahern, T., Haight, J., Francone, V., Kline, E., Yang, J-H., Ecevitoglu, A., Sanacora, G.

Society for Neuroscience 2022 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, Society for Neuroscience (2022)

Peer Reviewed Poster

The 33rd northeast undergraduate and graduate research organization for neuroscience (NEURON) conference held at Quinnipiac University's Center for Medicinem Nursing and Health Sciences in North Haven, CT

Rotolo, R., Tanner, G., Small, D., Francone. V., Frye, C., Basu, A., Trapani, J., Linden, M., Presby, R., Yang, Y-H., Lee, D, Battison, A., Haight, J., Ahern, T, Betz, A.

Society for Neuroscience's SfN Global Connectome: A Virtual Event, Virtual, Society for Neuroscience (2021)

Invited Speaker

Mediating individual variation in Pavlovian conditioned responses

Haight, J.L.

Spring 2021 Seminar, Hamden, CT, Sigma Xi, Quinnipiac Chapter (2021)

Peer Reviewed Poster

The 34th northeast undergraduate and graduate research organization for neuroscience (NEURON) conference held virtually

Rotolo, R., Tanner, G., Lynch, W., Battison, A., Francone. V., Presby, R., Yang, J-H., Ecevitoglu, A., Haight, J., Ahern, T, Betz, A.

Society for Neuroscience 2021 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Society for Neuroscience (2021)