Amanda Russo

I am currently a PhD student in the Integrative Neuroscience program at Stony Brook University where I work under the advisement of Dr. Ryan Parsons.  In the Parsons lab, we study the neurobiological mechanisms underlying long-term memory formation using Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigms in rats.  Because it is known that poor ability to extinguish a conditioned fear response underlies fear-based psychopathologies such as posttraumatic stress disorder, I use a Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm to delineate the neural mechanisms involved in the learning and recall of fear extinction.  I am specifically interested in understanding how activation of the circuits involved in extinction differs among rats with different extinction phenotypes.  I am currently using retrograde tracers and chemogenetic tools to attempt to understand what makes some individuals worse at extinguishing fear than others.  Identification of such differences can help to provide targets for the treatment of fear-based disorders. 

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: amanda.s.russo@stonybrook.edu