Emotion learning & associated neurobiology change dramatically across development. Parent child interactions play a critical role in those maturational effects. My research examines how parents regulate emotional reactivity and learning in children. I also examine how parental regulation scaffolds the development of emotion neurobiology, contributing to the integrity of emotion circuits.

I have also begun to examine how the early experiences of our ancestors (e.g., our parents and grandparents) can affect our own emotional development.

In addition to studying typical development, I also study populations that have been exposed to sub-optimal rearing environments (such as animal models of chronic parental absence, and human populations exposed to early stress such as institutional caregiving and chronic childhood disease). By examining these populations and contrasting their development against 'typical' peers I can determine aspects of emotion maturation that are heavily impacted by the environment. Such an understanding will afford us greater insight into the links between adversity and mental illness, and will help us to develop more effective preventions and treatments for such outcomes. Some of this research is being carried out in collaboration with Dr. Nadine Kasparian at the University of New South wales.

Many studies have suggested that our emotional functioning is linked to our gastrointestinal health, particularly in the context of stress. In fact, it is now known that our gut functions almost like a second brain, having a strong influence on how we think and feel, and how we cope with stress. My research examines how gut bacteria change in response to stress, and whether early stressors can cause permanent changes to the gastrointestinal bacteria (microbiome) in ways that may increase vulnerability to mental illness. In addition, my colleagues and I have shown that altering the microbiome - through a probiotic treatment - can ameliorate the effects of stress on emotion development in rodents. I am currently translating those findings to human populations exposed to adversity. That project is funded by my grant from the NIMH (Pathway to Independence Award). In that study, we are looking at how the gut microbiome is different in young children and adolescents exposed to adversity, or not. In addition, we are looking at how gut microbes are related to memory development and hippocampal functioning (see below). If you are interested in participating in that study click here. If you want to read more about the microbiome in human health, look up my blog - The Two Brains.

Why can't we remember things that happened to us in our infancy. Why are our memories from childhood generally 'spotty' and difficult to recall? This phenomenon is called 'Childhood Amnesia' and occurs in all altricial species (i.e., those that are born dependent on their parents). My research in this area has examined how early rearing experiences impact the developmental offset of childhood amnesia in rodents. More recently, in the Tottenham Laboratory I have begun to translate my research to humans by investigating the neural mechanisms underlying long-term memory across human development using fMRI. This research is being carried out in collaboration with Dr Lila Davachi at New York University. We recently received competitive intramural funding for a pilot version of this project. The full study was then funded by the Brain Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Young Investigator grant. In addition my funding from the NIMH (Pathway to Independence Award) will fund the analysis of microbiome data in relation to memory development.