Elizabeth Goldfarb, PhD
Assistant Professor of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Department of Psychology
Secondary
Additional Titles
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Cognitive Neuroscience of Affect, Memories and Stress (CAMS) Lab, Psychiatry
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Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Department of Psychology
Secondary
Additional Titles
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Cognitive Neuroscience of Affect, Memories and Stress (CAMS) Lab, Psychiatry
Contact Info
Appointments
Psychiatry
Primary
Department of Psychology
Secondary
Additional Titles
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Cognitive Neuroscience of Affect, Memories and Stress (CAMS) Lab, Psychiatry
Contact Info
About
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Titles
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology; Director, Cognitive Neuroscience of Affect, Memories and Stress (CAMS) Lab, Psychiatry
Biography
Dr. Goldfarb is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and member of the Wu Tsai Institute. She completed her PhD in Psychology: Cognition & Perception with Dr. Elizabeth Phelps at New York University and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Psychiatry with Dr. Rajita Sinha at Yale. Her research investigates different forms of learning and memory, how stress changes which parts of our experiences we remember, and the impact of memory on later behavior.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Assistant ProfessorPrimaryDepartment of Psychology
Assistant ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- PhD
- New York University, Psychology: Cognition and Perception (2017)
- BA
- Bard College, Psychology and Creative Writing (double major) (2010)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Alcohol Drinking; Association Learning; Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms; Emotions; Functional Neuroimaging; Glucocorticoids; Habits; Memory, Episodic; Memory, Long-Term; Stress, Physiological; Stress, Psychological; Substance-Related Disorders
ORCID
0000-0001-9869-7771- View Lab Website
CAMS Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Elizabeth Goldfarb's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Elizabeth Goldfarb's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Elizabeth Goldfarb is interested in exploring.
Rajita Sinha, PhD
Nick Turk-Browne, PhD
Dustin Scheinost, PhD, BS
Dylan Gee, PhD
Felicia A. Hardi
Joel Gelernter, MD
37Publications
810Citations
Stress, Psychological
Emotions
Association Learning
Memory, Episodic
Alcohol Drinking
Stress, Physiological
Publications
2025
Trauma-predictive brain network connectivity adaptively responds to mild acute stress
Hardi F, Ye J, Zhou I, Bai Z, Nguyen D, Loetscher K, Pratt J, Harris B, Gee D, Goldfarb E. Trauma-predictive brain network connectivity adaptively responds to mild acute stress. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2025, 122: e2505965122. PMID: 40737323, PMCID: PMC12327799, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2505965122.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsBrain networksTrauma exposureAcute stressCommunity sampleConnectome-based predictive modelingCommunity sample of adultsAssociated with lower depressive symptomsMedial frontal cortexSalience network connectivityDefault mode networkMild acute stressLower depressive symptomsConnectivity of brain networksBrain network connectivityStress-exposed groupsSample of adultsSubsample of participantsFunctional connectivity networksRelative to controlsSalience networkFrontal cortexMode networkDepressive symptomsTraumatic experiencesMotor regionsPositive affect amplifies integration within episodic memories in the laboratory and the real world.
Pratt J, Wemm S, Harris B, Huang Y, Sinha R, Goldfarb E. Positive affect amplifies integration within episodic memories in the laboratory and the real world. Learning & Memory 2025, 32: a053971. PMID: 39870487, PMCID: PMC11801478, DOI: 10.1101/lm.053971.124.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPositive eventsReal worldEpisodic memoryEmotional eventsConsistent with past findingsTime of retrievalImpact of emotionsParticipants' emotional responsesMemory accuracyAssess memoryPositive affectExperiment 1Experiment 2Memory integrationEmotional responsesEmotional statesMemoryMemory structureNegative experiencesMemory featuresLaboratory environmentAccuracySmartphone
2024
Network state dynamics underpin basal craving in a transdiagnostic population
Ye J, Garrison K, Lacadie C, Potenza M, Sinha R, Goldfarb E, Scheinost D. Network state dynamics underpin basal craving in a transdiagnostic population. Molecular Psychiatry 2024, 30: 619-628. PMID: 39183336, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02708-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsConnectome-based predictive modelingBrain responsesRegulation of affective statesSample of healthy controlsTransdiagnostic populationTransdiagnostic sampleHigher cravingMotivational stateCravingFMRI methodsAffective statesScan runsExperimental stimuliNetwork engagementBrain dynamicsClinical implicationsHealthy controlsBrainIndividual variationState dynamicsCharacterize individualsReplication datasetPsychopathologyFMRIEngagementDrawbacks to Strengthening Neural Salience Encoding: A Link Between Cortisol and Risky Drinking
Harris B, Sinha R, Goldfarb E. Drawbacks to Strengthening Neural Salience Encoding: A Link Between Cortisol and Risky Drinking. Journal Of Neuroscience 2024, 44: e1027242024. PMID: 39147591, PMCID: PMC11450530, DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1027-24.2024.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsAlcohol motivationInfluence later behaviorEnhance memorySalience responseFemale social drinkersAlcohol drinkingEmotionally salient experiencesResponse to alcoholDouble-blind cross-over designMemory biasSalient memoriesAlcohol-related eventsRisky alcohol drinkingSocial drinkersMotivated behaviorMaladaptive consequencesLateral behaviorCross-over designRisky drinkingMemoryRodent modelsHuman researchSalienceRisky drinkersCortisolAcute Stress Effects on Statistical Learning and Episodic Memory
Sherman B, Huang I, Wijaya E, Turk-Browne N, Goldfarb E. Acute Stress Effects on Statistical Learning and Episodic Memory. Journal Of Cognitive Neuroscience 2024, 36: 1741-1759. PMID: 38713878, PMCID: PMC11223726, DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02178.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsEpisodic memoryAcute stressStatistical learningEffects of acute stressStress-induced cortisol levelsImpaired episodic memoryModulate learning processesAcute stress effectsImpact hippocampal functionEpisodic encodingRodent workEvidence of learningHippocampal functionStress effectsHippocampal pathwaysLearning tasksBehavioral experimentsPreliminary evidenceCortisol levelsNo stressMemoryMultiple measuresHippocampusScene categoriesParticipantsIntegrating and fragmenting memories under stress and alcohol
Loetscher K, Goldfarb E. Integrating and fragmenting memories under stress and alcohol. Neurobiology Of Stress 2024, 30: 100615. PMID: 38375503, PMCID: PMC10874731, DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100615.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsMemory representationsMemory integrationMemory-guided behaviorPre-existing schemaEffects of alcoholMemory bindingAversive learningNegative affectCognitive mechanismsPreclinical findingsMemoryDesign appropriate interventionsIndividual experienceAppropriate interventionsFragmented memoryAlcoholCausal structureAffectBehaviorMultiple levelsFindingsRepresentationStressSchemaIntervention
2023
Hippocampal Mechanisms Support Cortisol-Induced Memory Enhancements
Sherman B, Harris B, Turk-Browne N, Sinha R, Goldfarb E. Hippocampal Mechanisms Support Cortisol-Induced Memory Enhancements. Journal Of Neuroscience 2023, 43: 7198-7212. PMID: 37813570, PMCID: PMC10601369, DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0916-23.2023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsFunctional magnetic resonance imagingMemory enhancementEpisodic memoryAssociative memoryEpisodic memory encodingBrain regionsHigh-resolution functional magnetic resonance imagingHuman hippocampusHigh-resolution fMRIStress-related hormone cortisolHormone cortisolMemory benefitsEmotional memoryMemory encodingEmotional eventsEmotional associationsHippocampal representationsHippocampal signaturesFunctional neuroimagingHippocampal mechanismsStressful eventsFunctional connectivityHippocampal functionMemory formationSalient informationPerceptual Generalization of Alcohol-Related Value Characterizes Risky Drinkers
Kang S, Larrabee G, Nair S, Goldfarb E. Perceptual Generalization of Alcohol-Related Value Characterizes Risky Drinkers. Psychological Science 2023, 34: 1146-1162. PMID: 37682597, PMCID: PMC10985388, DOI: 10.1177/09567976231181516.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsSurprise recognition memory testAlcohol-related associationsRecognition memory testAlcohol-related imagesRisky drinkingPerceptual generalizationMemory testPerceptual similarityRisky drinkersNovel situationsAdaptive behaviorMaladaptive responsesOnline experimentPast experienceRisky patternsOvergeneralizationDrinkersDrinkingParticipantsConditioningIndividualsOutcomesExperienceAlcoholBiasAcute Stress Enhances Memory and Preference for Smoking-Related Associations in Smokers
Lee J, Kang S, Maier S, Lee S, Goldfarb E, Ahn W. Acute Stress Enhances Memory and Preference for Smoking-Related Associations in Smokers. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2023, 26: 333-341. PMID: 37589502, DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntad152.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsSmoking-related itemsMemory biasesAcute stressNicotine dependenceAccuracy of memoryStress-induced relapseLaboratory-based stressorRole of stressMemory biasMemory recognitionContext memoryLaboratory paradigmContextual memoryVisual stimuliNicotine seekingAssociative memorySevere nicotine dependenceRewarding memoryMemoryControl conditionRelated contextGreater preferenceCurrent studyPotential interventionsItemsMultiple Memory Subsystems: Reconsidering Memory in the Mind and Brain
Sherman B, Turk-Browne N, Goldfarb E. Multiple Memory Subsystems: Reconsidering Memory in the Mind and Brain. Perspectives On Psychological Science 2023, 19: 103-125. PMID: 37390333, PMCID: PMC10756937, DOI: 10.1177/17456916231179146.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricConceptsMemory representationsDistinct brain systemsLong-term memoryBrain structuresCross-species findingsSame brain structuresMemory-related structuresMemory researchBrain systemsMemory typesMemory organizationMemoryFuture researchOrganizational principlesClassic theoryMemory subsystemNovel perspectiveRepresentationAmygdalaResearchRecent workLearningMindTheoryDistinct types
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Brain Imaging Study of Affect and Learning
HIC ID2000030825RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date07/31/2024Recruiting ParticipantsMultiple cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol processing
HIC ID2000027221RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date02/28/2025Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 45 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Activities
activity Memory Disorders Research Society
09/14/2022 - PresentProfessional OrganizationsMember
Honors
honor Honorable Mention, Klerman Award for Excellent Clinical Research
07/29/2024National AwardBrain and Behavior Research Foundationhonor Young Investigator Award
02/22/2023National AwardNational Institutes of Health/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismDetailsUnited Stateshonor Rising Star Award
02/28/2022National AwardAssociation for Psychological ScienceDetailsUnited Stateshonor Harry June Travel Award
12/06/2020National AwardAmerican College of Neuropsychopharmacology
News
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News
- December 10, 2025Source: Yale News
Stress Hormones can Alter Brain Networks—and Strengthen Emotional Memories
- August 06, 2025
How Our Past Trauma Drives Our Brain’s Response to New Stress
- July 31, 2025Source: PNAS
Trauma-Predictive Brain Network Connectivity Adaptively Responds to Mild Acute Stress
- May 16, 2025Source: Being Patient
The Double-Edged Sword of Cortisol: When Stress Hurts — and When It Helps
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