Sydney Trask
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Contact Information Email: smtrask@purdue.edu Office: PSYC 3164 Map Phone: 765-496-0880 Fax: 765-496-1264 Homepage: Homepage |
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences PubMed Listing  Google Scholar Listing  View Vita
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Pillars of Interdisciplinary Research Excellence
Preserving Cognitive Function; Enhancing Biological and Physical Function in Later Life
Education
PhD University of Vermont Psychological Sciences 2017
Research Interests
I am interested in the ways the brain encodes, stores, retrieves, and updates memory. I am particularly interested in understanding memory for context, or the environment in which events take place. Successful encoding and retrieval of context allows us to select and guide our behavior in a way that encourages situationally appropriate responding. However, alterations in this type of learning and memory are common in symptomology that underlies several neuropsychiatric disorders, ranging from PTSD to age-related dementia. Understanding how memory for context is formed, retrieved, and altered at both the circuit and molecular level, will provide one crucial step forward to treatments aimed at reducing maladaptive behaviors stemming from contextually inappropriate responding.
Teaching Interests
Learning & Behavior, Learning Theory, Behavioral Neuroscience, Molecular Mechanisms of Memory
Grants
2024 - Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
2024 - National Institute of Mental Health
2023 - National Institute on Aging
2023 - Research Corporation for Science Advancement
2022 - Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience/Center for Research on Brain, Behavior, and Neurorehabilitation Pilot Grant
2019 - National Institute of Mental Health
Selected Publications
Trask, S., Mogil, J. S., Helmstetter, F. J., Stucky, C. L., & Sadler, K. E. (2022). Contextual Control Of Conditioned Pain Tolerance And Endogenous Analgesic Systems. ELife, 11, E75283.
Trask, S., & Fournier, D. I. (2022). Examining A Role For The Retrosplenial Cortex In Age-related Memory Impairment. Neurobiology Of Learning And Memory, 189, 107601.
Trask, S., & Helmstetter, F. J. (in Press). Unique Roles For The Anterior And Posterior Retrosplenial Cortices In Encoding And Retrieval Of Memory For Context. Cerebral Cortex.
Trask, S. (2022). Rethinking Extinction-based Treatments For Specific Phobias. Biological Psychiatry, 91, E15-e16.
Trask, S., Ferrara, N. C., Grisales, K., & Helmstetter, F. J. (2021). Optogenetic Inhibition Of Either The Anterior Or Posterior Retrosplenial Cortex Disrupts Retrieval Of A Trace, But Not Delay, Fear Memory. Neurobiology Of Learning And Memory, 185, 107530. Denotes Graduate Advisee.
Ferrara, N. C., Trask, S., Avonts, B., Loh, M. K., Padival, M., & Rosenkranz, J. A. (2021). Developmental Shifts In Amygdala Activity During A High Social Drive State. The Journal Of Neuroscience, 41, 9308-9325.
Ferrara, N.C.*, Trask, S.*, Pullins, S.E., & Helmstetter, F.J. (2021) Inhibition Of The Thalamo-amygdala Pathway Facilitates Extinction Learning. Neurobiology Of Learning And Memory, 125, 107526. *Denotes Equal Contribution.
Trask, S., Ferrara, N.C., Jasnow, A.M., Kwapis, J.L. (2021). Contributions Of The Cingulate-retrosplenial Cortical Axis To Associative Learning And Memory: A Proposed Circuit For Persistent Memory Maintenance. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 130, 178-184.
Trask, S., Pullins, S.E., Ferrara, N.C., & Helmstetter, F.J. (2021). The Anterior Retrosplenial Cortex Encodes Event-related Information And The Posterior Retrosplenial Cortex Encodes Context-related Information During Memory Formation. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46, 1386-1392. [Article Featured On Cover Image.]
Ferrara, N.C., Trask, S., & Rosenkranz, J.A. (2021). Maturation Of Amygdala Inputs Regulate Shifts In Social And Fear Behaviors: A Substrate For Developmental Effects Of Stress. Neuroscience And Biobehavioral Reviews, 125, 11-25.