Christopher J. Machado, PhD Division of Biological Sciences Cuesta College Highway One San Luis Obispo, CA 93403  Email: christopher_machado@cuesta.edu

 

Professional Expertise

Although broadly trained in both biology and psychology, my primary expertise is in neurophysiology and the etiology of human psychiatric disorders that present social behavior deficits as core symptoms, such as autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia and social anxiety disorder. My doctoral training and subsequent independent research program were directed towards three core questions: What are the neural networks that support distinct social skills? Can the function of these networks be selectively modulated to normalize atypical social behavior? How do these networks develop from infancy through adulthood, and what conditions can perturb their normal development? Through pursuit of these questions, I gained extensive experience working with nonhuman animal models, including macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and Long-Evans rats (Rattus norvegicus), and a wide range of modern biomedical techniques, including transient neural inactivation, functional neuroimaging, noninvasive eye-tracking, and psychophysiological recording of arousal states. 

 

Education

2004  PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience)

Ph.D. Thesis Title: The contributions of the amygdala, orbital frontal cortex and hippocampal formation to primate social cognition

University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Advisor: Jocelyne Bachevalier, PhD

 

1996  BS in Biological Sciences (Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior)

Psychology (Minor)

University of California, Davis

           

Positions Held

08/2014 – present: Biology Instructor, Division of Biological Sciences, Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

07/2015 – 6/2017: Visiting Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences & California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA

08/2010 – 07/2014: Assistant Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences & California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA

08/2004 – 07/2010: Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The MIND Institute & California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, Advisor: David G. Amaral, Ph.D.

08/1998 – 07/2004: Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, Advisor: Jocelyne Bachevalier, Ph.D.

07/1996 – 07/1998: Postgraduate Researcher, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA

09/1995 – 06/1996: Student Research Assistant, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA

 

Teaching Experience at Cuesta College

2014 - present: Human Physiology (BIO 206): This lecture and laboratory course is intended for biology majors and those pursuing a healthcare related career path.  This course provides a rigorous overview of how molecules, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems of the human body function individually and together in a coordinated manner.  The laboratory component of this course provides students with practical experience in performing methods common to a modern physiology laboratory or clinical setting.

 

2015 - present: Human Biology (BIO 212): This lecture course is intended for non-biology majors and offers a general introduction to the biology of the human species.  Class lectures, discussions, and assignments are designed to create awareness and understanding of human body functions, the human's place in nature, and the mechanics of human heredity.

 

2014 - present: Human Biology Laboratory (BIO212L): This laboratory course accompanies the Human Biology (BIO 212) lecture course, and is a general education course for non-biology majors and healthcare related fields.  This lab course provides an introduction to the biology of the human species (and a few common animal models) and is designed to create awareness and understanding of human body functions, the human’s place in nature, and the mechanics of human heredity.

 

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

1. Carp SB, Santistevan AC, Machado CJ, Whitaker AM, Aguilar BL & Bliss-Moreau E (2022) Monkey visual attention does not fall into the uncanny valley. Scientific Reports, 12(11760): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14615-x
2. Bliss-Moreau E, Moadab G & Machado CJ (2017) Monkeys preferentially process body information while viewing affective displays. Emotion, 17(5): 765-771.
3. Engle J, Machado CJ, Permenter M, Vogt J, Maurer R, Bulleri K & Barnes C (2016) Network patterns associated with navigational behavior are altered in aged nonhuman primates. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(48): 12217-12227.
4. Grayson DS, Bliss-Moreau E, Machado CJ, Bennett J, Shen K, Grant KA, Fair DA, and Amaral DG (2016) The rhesus monkey connectome predicts disrupted functional networks resulting from pharmacogenetic inactivation of the amygdale. Neuron, 91(2): 453-466.
5. Machado CJ, Whitaker AM, Smith SEP, Patterson PH & Bauman MD (2015) Maternal immune activation in nonhuman primates alters social attention in juvenile offspring. Biological Psychiatry, 77(9), 823-832. Ddoi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.07.035.
6. Bliss-Moreau E, Machado CJ & Amaral DG (2013) Cardiac psychophysiology as an assay of affective processing in nonhuman animals. PLoS ONE. 8(8): e71170. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071170.
7. Raper J, Wilson M, Sanchez M, Machado CJ & Bachevalier J (2013) Pervasive alterations of emotional and neuroendocrine responses to an acute stressor after neonatal amygdala lesions in rhesus monkeys. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(7), 1021-1035.
8. Machado CJ, Bliss-Moreau E, Platt M & Amaral DG (2011) Social content differentially modulates visual attention and autonomic arousal in rhesus macaques. PLoS ONE 6(10): e26598. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026598.
9. Machado CJ & Nelson EE (2011) Eye-tracking with nonhuman primates is now more accessible than ever before. American Journal of Primatology, 73, 562-569.
10. Babineau BA, Bliss-Moreau E, Machado CJ, Toscano JE, Mason WA & Amaral DG (2011) The effect of orbitofrontal cortex lesion on social interactions in adult rhesus monkeys. 179: 80-93.
11. Machado CJ, Emery NJ, Mason WA & Amaral DG (2010) Selective changes in foraging behavior following bilateral neurotoxic lesions in rhesus monkeys. Behavioral Neuroscience, 124(6), 761-772.
12. Payne CD, Machado CJ, Bliwise N & Bachevalier J (2010) Maturation of the hippocampal formation and amygdala in Macaca mulatta: A volumetric MRI study. Hippocampus, 20, 922-935.
13. Machado CJ, Kazama AM & Bachevalier J (2009) Impact of amygdala, orbital frontal or hippocampal lesions on threat avoidance and emotional reactivity in nonhuman primates. Emotion, 9(2), 147 – 163.
14. Machado CJ & Bachevalier J (2008) Behavioral and hormonal reactivity to danger: Effects of selective amygdala, hippocampal or orbital frontal lesions. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33, 926 - 941.
15. Machado CJ, Emery NJ, Capitanio JP, Mason WA, Mendoza SP & Amaral DG (2008) Bilateral neurotoxic amygdala lesions in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): Consistent pattern of behavior across different social contexts, Behavioral Neuroscience, 122(2), 251 – 266.
16. Machado CJ, Snyder AZ, Cherry SR, Lavenex P & Amaral DG (2008) Effects of neonatal amygdala or hippocampal lesions on resting brain metabolism in the macaque monkey: A microPET imaging study, NeuroImage, 39(2), 832 – 846.
17. Machado CJ & Bachevalier J (2007) Measuring reward assessment in a semi-naturalistic context: The effects of selective amygdala, orbital frontal or hippocampal lesions, Neuroscience, 148(3), 599 – 611.
18. Machado CJ & Bachevalier J (2007) The effects of selective amygdala, orbital frontal cortex or hippocampal formation lesions on reward assessment in nonhuman primates, European Journal of Neuroscience 25(9), 2885 – 2904.
19. Machado CJ & Bachevalier J (2006) The impact of selective amygdala, orbital frontal cortex, or hippocampal formation lesions on established social relationships in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), Behavioral Neuroscience 120(4), 761 – 786.
20. Mason WA, Capitanio JP, Machado CJ, Mendoza SP & Amaral DG (2006) Amygdalectomy and responsiveness to novelty in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta): Generality and individual consistency of effects. Emotion 6(1) 73–81.
21. Emery NJ, Capitanio JP, Mason WA, Machado CJ, Mendoza SP & Amaral DG (2001) The effects of bilateral lesions of the amygdala on dyadic social interactions in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Behavioral Neuroscience, 115(3), 515 – 544.

 

Review articles and book chapters

1. Machado CJ (2012) Maternal influences on social and neural development in macaque monkeys. In: Building babies: Primate development in proximate and ultimate perspectives. (Clancy K, Hinde K, Rutherford, J eds.) Springer, 259 – 279.
2. Bachevalier J, Machado CJ & Kazama A (2011) Behavioral outcomes of late-onset or early onset orbital frontal cortex (areas 11/13) lesions rhesus monkeys. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1239, 71 – 86.
3. Bauman MD, Bliss-Moreau E, Machado CJ & Amaral DG (2011) The neurobiology of primate social behavior. In: The Oxford Handbook of Social Neuroscience (Decety J, Cacioppo JT eds.) Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, NY, 683 – 701.
4. Schumann CM, Bauman MD, Machado CJ & Amaral DG (2006) The social brain, amygdala and autism. In: Understanding Autism: From Basic Neuroscience to Treatment (Moldin SO, Rubenstein JLR eds.)  CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 227 – 253.
5. Machado CJ & Bachevalier J (2003) Non-human primate models of childhood psychopathology: The promise and the limitations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 44(1) 1 – 24.