Welcome!In my research, I use a systems approach to investigate the impact of early adversity on adult outcomes, including cognitive skills and vulnerability to psychopathology, to address the question, what happens when a chronically stressed individual finally finds a safe environment, or when a sheltered individual encounters a challenge? To do this, I use translational, preclinical, and theoretical approaches to create a high-resolution map of cognitive skills affected by adverse and enriched developmental conditions, focusing on adolescence.
|
To understand programming effects of early experiences, I have developed an active line of interdisciplinary research investigating the effects of enriched and adverse developmental environments on cognitive skills and adult outcomes, mediated by individual features and context. My work has shown that chronic stress during adolescence can result in context-specific enhancements in cognitive skills, such as problem solving, reversal learning, accelerated decision making, working memory, and vigilance, without affecting adult adrenal gland function or unbound and total levels of glucocorticoids. The role of these lasting effects cognitive remains unclear, but may be to prepare an individual for adverse future conditions or to accommodate a faster pace-of-life strategy. I am currently developing a theoretical framework for interpreting the diverse cognitive changes resulting from developmental stress exposure.
Wayne State University
|