People Behind the Science Podcast Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers
864: Investigating How Brain Inflammation May Contribute to Compulsivity - Dr. Laura Bradfield
May 11, 202641 min · 7,921 words
Show notes
Dr. Laura Bradfield is Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at The University of Sydney. In the lab, Laura studies the behavioral and brain mechanisms of compulsivity and compulsive disorders. Conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder, substance use disorder, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease all have elements of compulsivity.
Highlighted moments
because we work with animal models, rather than trying to model a particular disorder like OCD or substance use disorder, we look at compulsivity as a trait as it spans across all of these different disorders.
“I always joke that academics were like Bart because punishment learning is one thing that I study and you always have one rat or a couple of rats that will keep pressing the lever even though they get the electric shock.”
“rather than just extinguishing that association, we give a reward every time the rat doesn't press the lever, so doesn't perform the outcome. And what we found is that this produces a much longer lasting reduction in responding.”
“I give this presentation to the lab about psychological safety. And it's this kind of idea that we want everybody in the lab to feel safe to be able to speak up.”
Transcript
Transcript not available for this episode yet.
More from People Behind the Science Podcast Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers
874: Searching for Signs of Life on Mars and Beyond - Dr. Amy Williams
Jul 20, 202647 min
873: Finding Out How the Brain Controls Movement in Moths During Flight - Dr. Simon Sponberg
Jul 13, 202654 min
872: Uncovering the Mechanisms Underlying Uneven Rates of Evolution Across Organisms - Dr. Martha Muñoz
Jul 6, 202652 min
871: Committed to Conserving and Reintroducing Crocodile and Turtle Species - Dr. Steven Platt
Jun 29, 202649 min
870: Determining the Drivers of Diversity in Bats and Other Mammals - Dr. Sharlene Santana
Jun 22, 202637 min