Ibukun Akinrinade
Postdoctoral Fellow
Contact information
Biography
About me
I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Bains lab. I have a background in Human Anatomy, after which I went on to do a PhD in Biology and Biomedicine at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, in Portugal. My research interest is focused on understanding the interplay of stress and sociality, and how differing affective states of individuals influence the behaviour of others.
My research
In times of stress, individuals can both transmit and alleviate their stress through social interactions, creating a bi-directional process. This stress contagion involves the reciprocal relationship between stressors and social support, impacting an individual's well-being. Stressors, whether from perceiving danger or recalling past stress, can be influenced by social presence, affecting the bi-directional outcomes of stress contagion and buffering. Previous studies focused on neural regulation during exposure to live danger, with findings suggesting that oxytocin and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus play crucial roles. The proposed research suggests that oxytocin neurons in the influences CRH-PVN neurons during the recall of a stressful event in the presence of a partner.
BRAIN CREATE program aspirations
I hope to have at least one academic exchange during my BRAIN CREATE program
Commercialization
Understanding the neural circuits regulating social buffering and contagion of fear during recall would contribute to the production of medications or therapies that target the neurobiological mechanisms underlying social buffering. Understanding how social relationships impact the brain's stress response can inform the development of novel treatments for mental health disorders