SCSB Colloquium Series with Dr. Elizabeth V. Goldfarb: Insights into multiple memory processes through studying stress and drinking

Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Location: 46-3002 (Singleton Auditorium)

Speaker: Elizabeth V. Goldfarb, Ph.D.

Affiliation: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology, Yale University

Host: Dr. Ev Fedorenko

Talk title: Insights into multiple memory processes through studying stress and drinking
Abstract: We remember our experiences in many different ways, varying in detail, integration, and flexibility. In this talk, I will discuss work from my lab examining how stress and drinking transform our memories, and the consequences of memory for later choices. Using new behavioral tasks and neuroimaging methods, I address questions including: what kinds of memories are prioritized following stress or trauma? How do stress and alcohol history make certain memories stronger? What are the consequences of memory biases for experiment-based decisions and real-world behavior? In answering these questions, I highlight inspiration from tasks developed in nonhuman animal models, and how memory processes can provide a bridge to translate insights across species and disorders. This work uncovers consequential and dynamic interactions between affect and our multifaceted memories.