Department of Psychology

Psychology > Faculty > Richard Bodnar

Richard Bodnar

Richard Bodnar, PhD

Basic Information

Title: Professor of Psychology, Queens College and Graduate Center, CUNY 
Area: Neuroanatomy, Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology
PhD: City University of New York, 1976
Email: richard.bodnar@qc.cuny.edu; rbodnar@gc.cuny.edu
Office: Remsen Hall, Room 206E
Office Phone: 914-980-9792
Lab: Remsen Hall Room 200
Lab Phone: n/a

Former Positions

  • Executive Officer, Psychology Doctoral Program, CUNY Graduate Center (2016-2023)
  • Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, Queens College, CUNY (2008-2016)
  • Chairperson, Department of Psychology, Queens College, CUNY (1998-2008)
  • Head, Neuropsychology Doctoral Subprogram, CUNY Graduate Center (1992-1998)

Professional Activities

Society Memberships

  • Society for Neuroscience
  • Sigma Xi Scientific Honor Society
  • New York Neuropsychology Group
  • American Psychological Society
  • Eastern Psychological Association
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • New York Academy of Sciences
  • American Pain Society
  • Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior

Editorial Advisory Boards

  • Physiology and Behavior
  • Nutritional Neuroscience; Associate Editor
  • Peptides
  • Brain Research

Research Summary

Since its inception in 1979, our Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory has been pursuing research examining the underlying pharmacology and neuroanatomical sites of action of two major neurobehavioral homeostatic systems: a) Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Food Intake, and b) Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Pain Inhibition. These studies involved different evolving themes over the years that can be summarized into the following major categories with peer-reviewed publications. In the study of Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Food Intake, the following themes have been examined: i) Pharmacology and Neuroanatomy of Conditioned Flavor Preferences, ii) Genetic Variance in Ingestive Responses, iii) Molecular Opioid Manipulations and Ingestive Behavior, iv) Neuroanatomical Mapping Studies of Opioid-induced Feeding, and v) Opioid Receptor Subtypes and Ingestive Behavior. In the study of [Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Pain Inhibition], the following themes have been examined: i) Sex Differences in Opioid-Induced Analgesia, ii) Neuroanatomical Mapping Studies of Opioid-Induced Analgesia, iii) Stress-induced Analgesia, and iv) Non-Opioid Analgesic Responses. Since 2002, I have written the Endogenous Opioids and Behavior Annual Reviews which covers all of the peer-reviewed articles in the field for the previous year as well as providing Other Invited Reviews and Book Chapters.

To accomplish all of this work, I have been fortunate to have had a great number of talented doctoral, masters and undergraduate students working with me. The Bodnar lab has produced 37 PhD dissertations, 20 Masters theses and 150 undergraduates have worked and appeared on the above publications. It has published over 330 peer-reviewed articles, reviews and chapters and has presented over 260 abstracts at national meetings. It has received support from NIH, NSF, pharmaceutical companies and PSC/CUNY Collaborative and small grants.

Recent Publications (2021-2025)

  1. Bodnar, RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2024. Peptides 191: 171422, 2025.
  2. Bodnar, RJ. A 40-year analysis of central neuroanatomical and neurochemical circuits mediating homeostatic intake and hedonic intake and preferences in rodents. 60th Anniversary Special Issue. Brain Res 1857: 149604, 2025.
  3. Bodnar, RJ, A Castillo, I Carata, Y Bochner, J Sarker, N Rayman, S Narine, R Pines, B Limbu and A Sclafani. Role of glutamatergic signaling in the acquisition and expression of learned sugar preferences in C57BL/6 mice. Physiol Behav 290: 114748, 2025.
  4. Cataldo, G, DA Simone and RJ Bodnar. Opioids, stress and addiction: From stress-induced analgesia to opioid heterodimers with extraordinary analgesic efficacy and without the side effects of traditional opioids. Special Issue on Stress/Addiction. Addiction Neurosci 12: 100168, 2024.
  5. Bodnar, RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2023. Peptides 179: 171268, 2024.
  6. Bodnar, RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2022. Peptides 169: 171095, 2023.
  7. Sclafani, A, A Castillo, I Carata, R Pines, E Berglas, S Joseph, J Sarker, M Nashed, M Roland, S Arzayus, N Williams, JI Glendinning and RJ Bodnar. Conditioned preference and avoidance induced in mice by the rare sugars isomaltulose and allulose. Physiol Behav 267: 114221, 2023.
  8. Bodnar, RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2021. Peptides 164: 171004, 2023.
  9. Roland, M, E Berglas, R Pines, I Carata, A Castillo, M Nashed, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar. Differential patterns of opioid and dopamine d1 receptor antagonism of nutritive and non-nutritive sweet intake in C57BL/6:129 hybrid mice relative to C57BL/6 and 129 inbred mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 223: 173514, 2023.
  10. Bodnar, RJ and MM Heinricher. Central mechanisms of pain suppression: modulation. In: DW Pfaff, ND Volkow and JL Rubenstein (Editors), Neuroscience in the 21st Century: From Basic to Clinical. pp. 3861-3886, Springer, 2022.
  11. Iskhakova J, T Mustac, A Yuabov, J Macanian, E Israel, P Dohnalova, B Iskhakov, E Ben Lulu, S Aminov, D Fazylov and RJ Bodnar. Acquisition and expression of fat conditioned flavor preferences following dopamine D1, opioid and NMDA receptor antagonism in C57BL/6 mice. Nutritional Neurosci 25: 137-145, 2022. (accepted, Jan 10: 1-10, 2020: https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415x.2020.1724706).
  12. Bodnar, RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2020. Peptides 151: 170752, 2022.
  13. Bodnar, RJ and YX Pan. Editorial: Opioid addiction: A 2021 update. Peptides 146: 170668, 2021
  14. Nashed, M, A Castillo, M Roland, I Carata, E Berglas, R Pines, S Riaz, B Jean-Philippe Morisset, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar. Differential fructose and glucose appetition in DBA/2, 129P3 and C57BL/6 x 129P3 hybrid mice revealed by sugar versus non-nutritive sweetener tests. Physiol Behav 241: 113590, 2021.
  15. Rossi GC and RJ Bodnar. Interactive mechanisms of supraspinal sites of opioid analgesic action. Special Issue on Understanding opioid actions, pain and analgesia: a tribute to Dr. Gavril Pasternak. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiol. 41: 863-897, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-020-00961-9.
  16. Bodnar, RJ. Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2019. Peptides 141: 170547, 2021.