Patrick Piantadosi is a Postdoctoral Fellow under Dr. Andrew Holmes in the Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Patrick's research attempts to untangle the cortico-limbic-striatal circuits involved in punished reward-seeking. To address this, he is utilizing pharmacological, optogenetic, and in vivo imaging methods to manipulate and measure neural activity during complex behavior. Perseveration in the face of punishment is considered a hallmark of compulsivity, and these studies will highlight circuit interactions during adaptive and maladaptive forms of reward-seeking.
Patrick received his B.A. in Psychology from St. Mary's College of Maryland, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology (Behavioral Neuroscience) from the University of British Columbia, conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Stan Floresco. His graduate work focused on aversively motivated behavior, identifying regions of the cortex, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens that promote and inhibit actions in the face punishment.
When outside the lab, Patrick enjoys rock climbing, sports, and spending time with his dog, Mike.