Who are we?

Exposure to trauma is common, and many trauma survivors experience adverse mental health outcomes that cause profound distress and interfere with their lives. Although there have been advances in understanding and treating trauma-related disorders, many survivors struggle to fully recover.

The CATS Lab, directed by Dr. Ashley Huggins, is dedicated to disentangling complex neural mechanisms involved in PTSD. With better insights into the brain, we hope to improve mental health outcomes for survivors of trauma. The CATS Lab leverages functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to understand how changes in how people experience fear can explain symptoms of PTSD. We focus on diverse emotional and cognitive processes and integrate multi-modal assessments to develop more comprehensive models of PTSD. Moreover, our lab focuses on moving beyond the lab and clinic by examining how socioenvironmental context influences risk and resilience. Overall, the CATS Lab aims to improve our understanding the neurobiology of stress, fear, and psychopathology, thus revealing novel brain-based targets for intervention.