Programa

My lab's research aims to reveal how neurodevelopmentally-mediated shifts in circuit-level brain function contribute to changes in motivated, emotional, and social behavior during adolescence. My talk will feature new work that reveals the ways in which goal-directed behaviors are differentially shaped by cues signaling value - denoted by social cues and monetary rewards -  during adolescence, and associations with behavior and brain function. Ultimately, the aims of this work are threefold: to bolster fundamental understanding of human neurodevelopment in the second decade of life, to inform relationships between circuit-level brain function and human behavioral outcomes more generally, and to gain insight into mechanisms of health risks that emerge during adolescence.

In adolescence, one’s own voice changes significantly due to a surge of pubertal hormones, resulting in a distinctive voice signature. A person’s unique voice signature signals one’s own individuality and becomes increasingly relevant as social networks expand. In this talk, I will present a socioneuroendocrine framework that contributes to our understanding of how we perceive and differentiate ourselves through our voice, and will specify how the underlying mechanisms change during pubertal development.