I received my bachelor's degree from the
University of North Dakota in 1999. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in
the experimental psychology program at UWM.
I am in my sixth year of graduate studies
and my current work focuses primarily on two areas of research. Several
studies have shown that memory becomes labile following a reminder in a
process that has been termed reconsolidation. I am interested
in studying the molecular mechanisms that support memory
reconsolidation and whether or not they differ from the mechanisms
involved in initial consolidation. I am also interested in
understanding the role of synaptic plasticity in fear memory formation
across brain regions necessary for the production of fear behavior.
This line of research involves examining whether brain areas, other
than the amygdala, that are part of the fear circuitry undergo plastic
changes that are critical to fear memory formation. The goal of this
research is to determine whether memory is stored locally in the
amygdala, or if fear memory formation and storage relies on synaptic
strengthening at several sites along the fear neural circuit.
