Dunsmoor Lab
Principal Investigator: Joseph Edward Dunsmoor
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY. The strength and persistence of emotional memories is believed to depend on the amygdala. Animal models demonstrate a central role of the amygdala on enhancing long-term retention of different forms of learning and memory. However, except for small studies in clinical populations with rare lesions or intracranial recordings, human neuroscience research on emotional memory processes is correlative in nearly all cases. The long-standing premise that the human amygdala is central to the enhancement of emotional memory has received limited causal support. It is possible that the human amygdala plays a more dispensable or nuanced role in the enhancement of emotional memory than assumed from animal neuroscience. Importantly, the amygdala remains a major target for translational neuroscience research focused on mental health disorders characterized by abnormalities in emotional learning, memory, and behavior. There are increasing efforts to directly target the amygdala using neurostimulation protocols as a cutting-edge treatment modality for psychiatric conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder, with early reports of implanted deep-brain stimulating electrodes in P…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R21MH141696-01: Effects of transcranial focused ultrasound of the human amygdala on episodic memory (2026)
- 5R01MH122387-05: Localizing and modulating competing memories of fear and safety in the human brain (2025)
- 5R01MH122387-04: Localizing and modulating competing memories of fear and safety in the human brain (2024)
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