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Rebecca Shansky
Associate Professor of Psychology
617.373.3076
Expertise
hormone and catecholamine interactions, neurobiology and psychology, sex differences in stress-induced prefrontal cortex dysfunction

Rebecca Shansky in the Press

Rebecca Shansky for Northeastern Global News

Northeastern University researchers are mapping the brain signals of female rats to find more effective treatments for human women with PTSD

Rebecca Shansky, an associate professor of psychology at Northeastern, is trying to understand the connection between the amount of an estrogen hormone in a woman’s system and her ability to respond to treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder by mapping the brain signals of female rats. She hopes her findings will lead to more effective treatments for women.

Most biomedical research is done on male animals. That’s a public health problem.

Stress-related illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder occur twice as frequently in women as they do in men, says Northeastern researcher Rebecca Shansky. But most of the research for treatments has been done on male animals, which means they might not work on women.
While many researchers and scholars examine trauma at the community or individual level, Rebecca Shansky investigates it a single neuron at a time. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University.

Northeastern neuroscientist joins Dalai Lama to explore spirituality and science

Stress and fear have far-reaching effects that start in the brain and permeate an individual’s life in lasting ways. Together with the Dalai Lama and experts from varying disciplines and backgrounds, Northeastern neuroscientist Rebecca Shansky is confronting trauma head-on in an effort to help communities in Africa heal from conflict.

Professor’s seminar on scientific literature paves the road to creative thinking

In Rebecca Shansky’s course on biological psychology, students learn how to critically analyze academic papers while simultaneously gaining a solid footing in the literature exploring the ways animal research contributes to our understanding of psychiatric disorders.

Researchers’ preclinical trial upends conventional wisdom about responses to fear

Northeastern assistant professor of psychology Rebecca Shansky provides insights into new treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder with a preclinical study that distinguishes how males and females respond to traumatic events.

What lights their fire

Four professors in the College of Science explained what drives their passion for science and discovery at a campus event Thursday night.

3Qs: Gender balance in biomedical research

A new policy from the National Institutes of Health will require all biomedical research funded by the NIH to be gender balanced. Here, Rebecca Shanksy, an assistant professor of psychology whose research is focused in this space, discusses the implications of the decision.

3Qs: Analyzing ‘Linsanity’

Three Northeastern experts examine the sudden success of basketball star Jeremy Lin, the NBA’s first Asian-American player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.