Dr. Ben Richardson, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at Southern Illinois University – School of Medicine, is a neuroscientist and neuropharmacologist whose research focuses on the role of specific circuits in sensorimotor behaviors and how environmental and genetic factors linked to neurodevelopmental disorders disrupt these circuits. With a background in cellular and neural physiology, Dr. Richardson’s integrative approach involves using electrophysiology, viral manipulations, optogenetics, and behavior to identify underlying synaptic and circuit changes in mouse models of Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD. Dr. Richardson’s lab is currently focused on understanding how disruption of broad-reaching modulatory brain areas, like the cerebellum and locus coeruleus, become disrupted due to disorder-relevant gene disruption or stress. In addition to his research, Dr. Richardson is dedicated to mentorship and the development of trainees in neuroscience and pharmacology.

In this webinar, Dr. Richardson will:

• Consider how disruption of brain regions or circuits not often considered may function abnormally in neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Explore how sex may interact with stress exposure at critical times to alter catecholaminergic signaling and related cognitive and affective behavior.
• Examine how specific changes in synaptic physiology within the cerebellum may underpin behavioral changes in an animal model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.