Amy Arnsten, PhD
Cards
About
Titles
Albert E. Kent Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Psychology
Member, Kavli Institute of Neuroscience at Yale UniversityBiography
Dr. Arnsten is an international expert on the molecular regulation of higher cortical circuits, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She received her B.A. in Neuroscience from Brown University in 1976 (where she created the Neuroscience major), and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCSD in 1981. She did post-doctoral research with Dr. Susan Iversen at Cambridge University in the UK, and with Dr. Patricia Goldman-Rakic at Yale. Dr. Arnsten's research examines the neural basis of higher cognition. Her work has revealed that the newly evolved cortical circuits that underlie higher cognition are uniquely regulated at the molecular level, conferring vulnerability in mental illness and age-related cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease. Arnsten's research has led to new treatments for cognitive disorders in humans, including the successful translation of guanfacine (IntunivTM) for the treatment of ADHD and related prefrontal cortical disorders.
Appointments
Neuroscience
ProfessorPrimaryChild Study Center
ProfessorSecondaryPsychiatry
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC)
- Arnsten Lab
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Child Study Center
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
- Kavli Institute for Neuroscience
- Neural Disorders
- Neuroscience
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Neuroscience Track
- Psychiatry
- WHRY Pilot Project Program Investigators
- Women's Health Research at Yale
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Center for Research on Aging (Y-Age)
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Stress Center
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- PhD
- University of California, San Diego (1981)
Research
Overview
The Arnsten Lab studies molecular influences on the higher cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), with the overarching goal of developing rational treatments for cognitive disorders and mental illness. The lab uses a multi-disciplinary approach to understand mechanisms influencing working memory at the cellular and behavioral levels. Research has focused on how the arousal pathways rapidly alter PFC network strength through intracellular signaling mechanisms, a process termed Dynamic Network Connectivity. Our data explain how exposure to stress causes the rapid loss of PFC cognitive abilities, and how genetic mutations in molecules that regulate these pathways can lead to symptoms of mental illness. Dysregulation of these pathways with advancing age leads to loss of neuronal firing, cognitive impairments,and increased vulnerability for degeneration. Understanding these mechanisms has led to successful new treatments for patients with PFC dysfunction, including medications for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and a potential treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Links & Media
Media
News
- June 10, 2024
Study Reveals How Calcium Channel Mutations Lead to Cognitive Dysfunction
- June 05, 2024
Four Faculty Invited to Speak at Cold Spring Harbor's 2024 Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Course
- March 20, 2024
From the journals
- March 06, 2024
Study Probes Blood Biomarker for Early-stage Alzheimer's Disease