Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · PharmacologyThe Stress Decision Lab
Ki Ann Goosens · New York, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Ki Ann Goosens leads a research lab focused on understanding how chronic stress affects decision-making processes in the brain. The lab studies the interactions between specific brain circuits and hormones like ghrelin, which play vital roles in determining how we weigh potential risks and rewards. Through innovative approaches such as optogenetics and pharmacological experiments, they aim to uncover the mechanisms that lead to altered decision-making in the context of psychiatric disorders such as depression and PTSD.
ghrelinstressdecision-makingneural circuitsreward processingpsychiatric disordersmouse modelsoptogenetics
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how chronic stress alters decision-making processes.
AIM 02Analyze the role of ghrelin receptors in the brain's striosomes.
AIM 03Examine the effects of neural activity manipulation on decision-making under stress.
AIM 04Identify the tipping point for abnormal reward-cost integration in stressed mice.
AIM 05Explore potential interventions to restore normal decision-making patterns.
Skills the Lab Values
optogeneticsmouse modelsbehavioral experimentationneuroanatomypharmacologydata analysisviral techniquesrecording neuronal activity
Output against the department
Publications134bottom 38% of dept.285th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.7kbottom 28% of dept.334th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.