Shelly B. Flagel, Ph.D.

The Flagel lab studies the genetic, environmental and neurobiological factors that contribute to individual differences in reward learning and susceptibility to mental illness, including addiction. Specifically, they focus on the psychological mechanisms that underlie and influence appetitive Pavlovian learning and the neural circuitry involved in these processes.

Their ultimate goal is to identify novel pharmacological targets for the treatment of addiction and other mental illnesses.

The lab combines behavioral, pharmacological, molecular and chemogenetic tools to better understand the genetic, environmental, and neurobiological factors that contribute to an individual’s responsiveness to rewards and susceptibility to mental illness.
Examples of current research include:

• Studying the role of the brain chemical dopamine
• Understanding how neural circuitry systems called cortico-thalamo-striatal pathways influence appetitive Pavlovian learning
• Describing how the intersection of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland might contribute to individual differences in emotionality and response to stressful events.