The research of the Tottenham Lab focuses on the development of neural circuits that underlie affective behaviors across childhood and adolescence, with a particular emphasis on limbic-cortical connections (e.g., amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex). One major focus of Dr. Tottenham's laboratory is to characterize normative human brain development using behavioral, physiological, and functional MRI methods with the aim of identifying sensitive periods during which the environment has the largest influence on neural phenotypes. A second major focus of the lab is to characterize the effects of early-life stress on human brain development. To meet this aim, they also study the neurodevelopment of children and adolescents who experienced various forms of early life stress (e.g., adverse caregiving) in the hopes of understanding the long-term effects of early adversity on human brain development.
Nim Tottenham is a professor of psychology at Columbia University and director of the Developmental Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. Her research examines brain development underlying emotional behavior in humans. Her research has highlighted fundamental changes in brain circuitry across development and the powerful role that early experiences, such as caregiving and stress, have on the construction of these circuits. She has authored over 80 journal articles and book chapters. She is a frequent lecturer, both nationally and internationally, on human brain and emotional development. She is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and her scientific contributions have been recognized by the National Institute of Mental Health Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (BRAINS) Award, the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology, and the Developmental Science Early Career Researcher Prize.
RSVP by Thursday, November 8, 2018
Registration is required; seating is first come, first served.
For more information about this event, please contact the Zuckerman Institute at [email protected]
This talk is part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture series, offered free to the public to enhance understanding of the biology of the mind and the complexity of human behavior. The lectures are hosted by Columbia’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
