Current Research Description

My laboratory is primarily interested in the maternal brain and behavior. More specifically, we seek to identify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying changes in emotional, cognitive, parental and motivational functioning during motherhood. The lab employs combinations of behavioral paradigms that tap into these functions along with neuroanatomical, neuroendocrinological, biochemical, neurochemical and pharmacological techniques to link neural changes to behavior during the normal postpartum state and using an animal model of postpartum depression.