Changing Fear

As part of the VTC Research Institute Distinguished Scholars Series, Elizabeth Phelps, PhD, Silver Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University, will talk about how Animal models of fear learning provide a basis for understanding human fears. In her lecture, Dr. Phelps will explore how the neural mechanisms identified in animal models are consistent with human brain function, and she will extend that research to the complex learning situations more typical of human experience.

Dr. Phelps will also describe how fear—once acquired—can be diminished. She will explore the neural mechanisms underlying a range of techniques that can be used to diminish fear in humans, how they are affected by stress, and how fear might be more persistently inhibited by targeting memory reconsolidation.

A public reception will precede this event in the VTC Cafe at 5 p.m.