Claire Kelly ’25

Motivated behavior in juvenility and across the lifespan
Claire Kelly ’25, Neuroscience major
Faculty mentor: Dr. Ryan Post, Psychology and Neuroscience

Adolescence is a phase of life characterized by rapid physical, emotional, and cognitive changes. Many scientists attribute impulsive action during human adolescence to the imbalance of the limbic and reward systems of the subcortical regions developing earlier during adolescence and the prefrontal cortex—which governs decision-making—maturing later (Konrad et. al, 2013). The goal of my study is to examine how such developmental processes influence decision-making and the prioritization of motivated behavior in mice and how maternal stress can play a role in interrupting typical imbalanced behaviors.

Poster Presentation: Wednesday, April 23, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.