معرفی
Donna Toufexis is a Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program at the University of Vermont's Department of Psychological Science (College of Arts and Sciences). Her research focuses on sex differences and hormonal influences on stress responses, learning/memory systems, and emotional behaviors, particularly in rodent models. She investigates how hormonal cycles and stress affect habit formation, with implications for psychopathologies like addiction and PTSD. Recent work highlights female rats developing habits faster than males, prompting studies on underlying neurophysiological mechanisms using behavioral, pharmacological, and viral vector techniques.
Education: B.S. (Concordia University, 1992), M.S. (Concordia University, 1994), Ph.D. (McGill University, 1999).
Research Interests: Neuroendocrinology of stress, hormonal modulation of anxiety/fear, habit learning, and translational models of social stress in aging primates. Her lab uses multidisciplinary approaches to explore neurobiological pathways linking sex differences and psychiatric vulnerabilities.
Publications: Over 50 peer-reviewed articles, including high-impact work on PACAP signaling, estrogen's role in fear inhibition, and stress-induced habit formation. Recent studies emphasize translational models linking rodent and primate research to human health.
Lab/Teams: Active in the Biobehavioral Psychology unit, collaborating on projects involving viral vector-based neural circuit mapping and pharmacological interventions targeting habit pathways.
