In our daily lives we often encounter both pleasurable and aversive situations, which heighten our emotional state and affect cognition. The ability to flexibly regulate our emotions in response to such events is essential for adapting to our environment and, ultimately, for our mental health. Many forms of mental illness involve dysfunction in the neural systems that regulate affective processing. The limbic system, which includes parts of the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe, is critical for regulating emotions and plays an essential role in cognition. The main focus of the Rudebeck lab is to understand how the limbic system, specifically the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, contribute to emotional regulation and decision-making. To do this, we use a combination of behavioral, autonomic, neurophysiological and lesion approaches in animal models.  

Visit Peter Rudebeck's Laboratory of Neurobiology of Emotion & Cognition for more information.