Jeansok Kim

Research

Fear and stress are essential for survival, yet their dysregulation contributes to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, PTSD, and depression. Our laboratory investigates the neurobiology of fear and stress, with a particular emphasis on innate fear responses and their interaction with learned fear and stress exposure. We examine how these factors influence memory systems, decision-making, and neural circuit dynamics.

Our multi-level approach integrates lesion studies, intracerebral drug infusions, in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, and optogenetics to manipulate and monitor neural activity with high spatial and temporal precision. To model ecologically relevant threats, we employ predator-like robots and a "closed economy" paradigm—an immersive living environment where rats must forage in a risky zone while maintaining a safe nest. These naturalistic settings allow us to study defensive behaviors and innate fear–driven decision-making in dynamic, semi-natural conditions.

In parallel, we apply similar behavioral and neural recording approaches to Alzheimer’s disease mouse models to investigate how neurodegeneration disrupts fear responses, stress reactivity, and risky decision-making. Using simultaneous multiregional recordings across the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex, we examine circuit-level dysfunction underlying cognitive and emotional impairments in early-stage disease.

By uncovering the neural mechanisms that link fear, stress, and decision-making in both healthy and diseased brains, our research aims to clarify how adaptive behaviors break down in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.