Depression – a mood disorder associated with deficits in reward processing – affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and can be difficult to treat. Stress is a major risk factor for the development and exacerbation of depression, but despite this well-established connection, we have no depression treatment that targets the biological stress response. Failures of translation stem from the fact that we do not understand how stress hormones interact with brain circuits for reward processing.
2024 One Mind Rising Star Awardee Dr. Talia Lerner is studying this question, examining how glucocorticoids like cortisol – the body’s primary stress hormone – impact dopamine – a neurotransmitter well-known to regulate reward processing. She has found that glucocorticoids regulate dopamine differently in males and females. By understanding this sex difference and elucidating its relationship with depression, she hopes to provide crucial mechanistic neurobiological insights to support the development of new depression treatments and to ensure these treatments work for men and women.
Dr. Talia Lerner is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, and the Associate Director of the Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience graduate program. Her lab studies the neural circuit basis of motivation, reward learning, and habit formation. She is interested in how individual variations in dopamine circuit function relate to differences in behavior and neuropsychiatric disease risk. Dr. Lerner earned her BS in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University and her PhD in Neuroscience from UCSF. She completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University.
The 2024 Science & Innovation Symposium took place on September 7th at the 30th Annual One Mind Music Festival for Brain Health in Napa, CA. Watch all the inspiring talks given by presenters at the 2024 Science & Innovation Symposium in the full playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUgJ4qB-APXnfoNWdbeWPKKIETYxfecQG
ABOUT ONE MIND
One Mind is the leading brain health nonprofit committed to healing the lives of people impacted by brain illness and injury through global, collaborative action. One Mind catalyzes visionary change through science, business, and media to dismantle stigma and discrimination and transform the world’s mental health. One Mind accelerates collaborative research and advocacy to enable all individuals facing brain health challenges to build healthy, productive lives.
FOLLOW ONE MIND
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onemindorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/OneMindOrg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneMindOrg
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@onemindorg
Website: https://onemind.org
#MentalHealth #Science #BrainHealthForAll #OneMind