Psychology

Dr. Hamilton is a faculty member in the department of Psychology, is an adjunct at the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute (University of Alberta), and a visiting scholar at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California San Diego).  He received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from McGill University.  He teaches a variety of courses including, Applied Neuropharmacology and Brain and Behaviour.  He has supervised many honours and independent study students on projects related to zebrafish and cichlid learning, memory, and anxiety.

Dr. Hamilton is also actively researching a variety of topics both in the zebrafish laboratory at MacEwan and in collaboration with other institutes.  At the zebrafish laboratory, his students have been examining the effect of elevated carbon dioxide (projected for the future) on zebrafish movement, memory, and anxiety.  Other research includes establishing novel and reliable tests of learning and memory in fish; namely the novel object recognition test and episodic-like memory tests.  A third area of interest is the effect of pharmacological substances on fish behaviour.  In the past his students have examined patterns of drug administration and the nature of addiction. 

Teaching

• PSYC 104 Introduction to Psychology
• PSYC 275 Brain and Behaviour
• PSYC 375 Applied Neuropharmacology
• PSYC 406 Neuroscience of Climate Change

Research focus

• learning and memory in zebrafish and cichlids
• ocean and freshwater acidification and their impact on fish
• psychopharmacology in zebrafish

• Ou M, Hamilton TJ, Eom J, Lyall EM, Gallup J, Jiang A, Lee J, Close D, Yun S, Brauner CJ. (2015) Response of pink salmon to CO2-induced aquatic acidification. Nature Climate Change. (5) DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2694
• Levinthal C, Hamilton TJ. (March 2015). Drugs, Behaviour and Modern Society. First Canadian Edition. Pearson Education, Toronto, Canada.
• Hamilton TJ, Holcombe A, Tresguerres M. (2014) CO2-induced ocean acidification increases anxiety in rockfish via alteration of GABAA receptor functioning. Proc Biol Sci. 2014 Jan 22;281(1775):20132509. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2509
• Hamilton TJ, Xiapelli S, Larkum M, Colmers WF. (2013) Modulation of Distal Calcium Electrogenesis by Neuropeptide Y1 Receptors Inhibits Neocortical Long-Term Depression. J Neurosci. 33(27): 11184-11193; doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5595-12.2013
• Hamilton TJ, Wheatley BM, Sinclair DB, Bachmann M, Larkum ME, Colmers WF. (2010) Dopamine modulates synaptic plasticity in dendrites of rat and human dentate granule cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 107(42):18185-90. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1011558107

National Sciences and Engineering Research Committee (NSERC) – Discovery Grant –An Investigation of CO2-Induced Behavioural Changes in Freshwater Fish (2014-18)

• Campus Alberta Neuroscience
• Society for Experimental Biology

Fish food worth remembering

Fish behaviour research