Christoph P. Wiedenmayer
Adjunct Professor
Ph.D., University of Zurich, 1995
General Area of Research
Neurobiology of the development of fear behavior in early life
Current Research
Animals have the ability to recognize dangerous situations and to perform appropriate fear-related responses to counter the threat. During development, fear responses undergo profound changes as the animal matures. Changes in responsivity to threatening stimuli help the growing organism to deal with environmental challenges. However, such developmental plasticity can also put the young animal at risk and result in pathological fear. In our research, we investigate the neural substrate that underlies fear behavior in early life.
First, we identify circuits in the brain that mediate fear responses in the young animal. We use ecologically relevant situations such as predator exposure or social threat to elicit fear behavior. We then use neurobiological techniques to assess brain areas and neurotransmitters that mediate fear behavior. We have found that forebrain and brainstem structures form circuits that underlie responses to threatening stimuli.
Second, we investigate how these circuits and their components change during the first weeks of life. We expose young animals to threatening stimuli at different ages and investigate the neural processes that contribute to age-specific differences in responsivity.
Third, we examine factors that can influence fear responsivity and lead to altered developmental trajectories. Early experience can affect the ability of an organism to perceive and to respond to threat. We have found, for example, that social conditions during rearing influence how an animal responds to threatening stimuli.
This approach helps us to understand the mechanisms that underlie the development of emotional behavior in early life and under what conditions altered development can lead to abnormal behavior.
Relevant Publications
Wiedenmayer, C.P., Magarinos, A.M., McEwen, B.S., and Barr, G.A. (2005). Age-specific threats induce CRF expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and hippocampus of young rats. Hormones and Behavior, 47, 139-150.
Wiedenmayer, C.P., (2004). Adaptations or pathologies? Long-term changes in brain and behavior after a single exposure to severe threat. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28, 1-12.
Courses Frequently Taught
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Columbia University
Psychology Dept. &
Psychiatry
356 Schermerhorn Extension
1190 Amsterdam Avenue MC: 5501
New York , NY 10027
Phone:
212-854-5973
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