Research in the Jasnow Lab centers around gaining a better understanding of the neural circuits, cell ensembles, and molecular mechanisms regulating aversive behavior (fear, avoidance, and stress-responsive behaviors) and appetitive behaviors (social behavior and drug seeking). To accomplish this, our lab integrates research fields that include behavioral neuroendocrinology, social behavior & stress, learning and memory, the neural control of fear, and addiction neurobiology. We strive to understand how these systems interact to regulate adaptive and maladaptive emotional behaviors with the goal of identifying common mechanisms of mental health and disease.

Our lab answers questions from the molecular-genetic to the behavioral level using various techniques, including advanced molecular and cellular methods, pharmacology, ex vivo slice and in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, chemogenetics (DREADDs), calcium imaging, photometry, and complex behavioral analyses. Our goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the neural, molecular, and cellular mechanisms underlying affective disorders (anxiety, PTSD, depression, addiction), for which our current knowledge is woefully inadequate.

Work in the Jasnow Lab is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and Private Foundations.