Fear, aggression, pleasure, stress. How we are feeling shapes our behavior in surprising ways. At Scripps Research, Professor Lisa Stowers, PhD, is exploring one of the biggest mysteries of neuroscience—how the brain creates and responds to emotions—with a special focus on how stress and pleasure alter our social interactions. Stowers is in the midst of a major research project, supported by the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative, to create the first-ever model of a complete brain circuit for social behavior. The resulting knowledge will hold unquestionable value for the scientific community and fuel additional discovery that will benefit human health, much like the first genome sequence did.

Presented: January 23, 2020