Speaker: Reesha R. Patel; Assistant Profesor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciecnes, Northwestern University.
Lecture title: Prefrontal CRF signaling shapes behavior under stress and uncertainty.
Abstract: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a central role in integrating internal state with environmental information to guide adaptive behavior. However, how stress-related neuromodulatory signals reconfigure prefrontal circuit function to bias behavioral output remains an open question. In this seminar, I will discuss our recent work identifying corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling within mPFC as a key neuromodulatory mechanism that shapes behavioral responses across distinct contexts. First, I will present work demonstrating that social isolation recruits CRF-dependent prefrontal circuit mechanisms that promote escalated alcohol drinking through alterations in basolateral amygdala (BLA)-mPFC connectivity and alcohol-related neural representations. I will then discuss ongoing studies examining how local CRF signaling biases prefrontal processing of ambiguous threat-related cues during fear generalization. Together, these findings reveal CRF signaling within mPFC as a context-sensitive internal-state signal that reconfigures prefrontal circuit function to guide behavioral responses to stress and threat.
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