University Directory

Josh E. Blustein, PhD


Josh Blustein
Contact
    • BA, Stockton College, Honors in Psychology
    • PhD, Temple University

     

    • 2020-Present, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • 1997-2018, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Arcadia University, Glenside, Pennsylvania. (Retired)
    • 1989-1996, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Arcadia University, Glenside, Pennsylvania.
    • 1992-1995, Staff member, National Science Foundation Grant, Teaching High School Psychology as a Natural Science. 
    • 1991 (Summer) Instructor for William Penn Foundation Grant in which Beaver Faculty and Community College of Philadelphia Faculty Team Taught CCP students.
    • 1987-1989 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania.

  • Selected Publications (Student co-authors in bold)

    Blustein, J.E., Whitehouse, W.G., Calcagnetti, D., Troisi, J.R., Bersh, P.J., & Margulies, D.L. (1992).  Elimination of shock escape deficits following exposure to inescapable shock by the central administration of quaternary naltrexone. Physiology and Behavior, 51, 1075-1078.

    Blustein, J.E., Hornig, G. & Bostwick-Poli, M. (1995).  Contextual control of tolerance to cold-water swim induced opioid analgesia. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 52, 841-844.

    Blustein, J.E. & Ciccolone, L. (1998).  Evidence that adaptation to cold-Water swim induced analgesia is a learned response. Physiology and Behavior, 63, 147-150.

    Blustein, J.E., McLaughlin, M. & Hoffman, J.R. (2006).  Exercise Effects Stress Induced Analgesia and Spatial Learning in Rats. Physiology and Behavior, 89, 582-586.

    • National Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi
    • Honors in Psychology, Stockton College
    • Sigma XI, Scientific Research Society
    • Lindback Award for Teaching Excellence
    • Provosts Award for Mentoring and Teaching 
    • Faculty Development Award, Arcadia University, Computerization of Presentation of Stimulus Events and Data Collection in Associative Learning.
    • Ellington Beaver's Award for Intellectual Inquiry, The Role of Contextual Stimuli in Opiate Withdrawal to Long Distance Running in the Rat.
    • Faculty Instructional Development Award, Arcadia University,  Development of Multimedia Software in Psychology.
    • Presidential Instructional Technology Grant, Arcadia University, Integration of High-Resolution Multimedia Presentations into Arcadia University Classrooms. Co-Principal Investigator.
    • Flavor Principal Inc. Grant, The Effects of Iboga on Opioid Systems, Principal Investigator.
    • Flavor Principal Inc. Grant, The Effect of an Antioxidant Grape Seed Extract on Heart Muscle Regeneration, Co-Principal Investigator.
    • Faculty Development Grant, Arcadia University, The Effect of THC on Cocaine Preference.
    • Faculty Development Grant, Arcadia University, Contextual Control of Super to Oxycodone Analgesia Induced by Naltrexone.

  • My past research focused on the role of the environment in adaptation to stress-induced analgesia. We have evidence that adaptation to stress-induced analgesia is regulated in part by the environment through Pavlovian Conditioning similar to the way tolerance to morphine analgesia is a learned response. We provided evidence that the stress-induced analgesia we observed is opioid-mediated by showing contextual control of cross-tolerance between stress-induced analgesia and morphine. The Blustein laboratory conducted dozens of experiments trying to develop an animal model for why humans engage in repeated trauma following exposure to traumatic events.