External Seminar | Jennifer Resnik - Ben Gurion University

Dr Jennifer Resnik

Biography

Jennifer received her B.Sc. in Life and Medical Sciences from Tel Aviv University. She then obtained her Masters and Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science. During her Ph.D. in Prof. Rony Paz’s Lab, she studied mechanisms underlying stimulus generalization, especially when they entail an aversive outcome, such as PTSD. After graduating, Jennifer moved to Boston to pursue her postdoctoral studies with Prof. Danial Polley at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School. In the Polley lab, she studied compensatory mechanisms in the adult auditory system. In 2020 Jennifer returned to Israel to start her own lab in the Life Sciences Department at Ben-Gurion University.

Abstract

The effect of chronic stress on sensory processing and perception

Chronic stress, a prevalent experience in modern society, is a major risk factor for many psychiatric and sensory disorders. Although these disorders often present perceptual abnormalities, little is known about how chronic stress affects sensory processing and perception. We combined chronic stress, longitudinal measurement of cortical activity, and auditory-guided behaviors to investigate the modulation of sound processing and perception under chronic stress conditions. We found that chronic stress induces changes in sound processing, reducing sound-evoked activity in a level-dependent manner. These modifications in sound processing led to the modulation of certain aspects of perception, assessed through behavior, modulating loudness perception, leaving tone detection in noisy environments unaffected. Additionally, our work reveals that the impact of stress on perception evolves gradually as the stressor persists over time, emphasizing the dynamic and evolving nature of this relationship.

Learn more about Jennifer here.