Northern Michigan University
Michael Catalano earned his B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in behavior analysis from Salve Regina University in 2025 and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Psychology at Northern Michigan University. During his time as a graduate student, Michael has been working to develop his scholarship, research, and technical skills. He contributed to publications appearing in both the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and the Journal of the Applied Analysis of Behavior. Under the mentorship of his advisors, Drs. Cory and Forrest Toegel, he has developed the skills to build and modify operant chambers for rat subjects, design well-controlled experiments, and analyze data and interpret results. Additionally, he has furthered his involvement in the field of psychology by serving on the board of Psi Chi. Michael’s main research interests include studying behavior related to anxiety, understanding behavioral effects of drugs such as cannabis, and evaluating contingency management interventions aimed to reduce problematic use of psychoactive substances.
Michael’s thesis project investigates potential anxiolytic and anxiogenic effects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid inverse agonists using a timeout from free-operant avoidance procedure. The phytocannabinoids delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are now used widely throughout the United States for recreational and therapeutic purposes, including, reportedly, for reducing feelings and behavior related to anxiety. Despite this widespread use, few studies have employed operant procedures to evaluate effects of these phytocannabinoids on behavior under aversive control. Michael’s thesis is designed to address this gap in the literature by exposing rats to a timeout-from-avoidance procedure and testing behavioral effects of compounds with known anxiolytic effects (chlordiazepoxide and buspirone), phytocannabinoids (CBD and THC), and a cannabinoid inverse agonist (rimonabant). Results will provide information about how the tested compounds change the behavioral effects of the avoidance contingency and the value of escape from avoidance.
This SABA grant will support Michael’s work by providing study equipment and materials and travel funding to present his results at ABAI’s annual 2027 convention in New Orleans, LA.
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