Alexandra Barker
Papers
2
Total Citations
9
H-Index
2
About
Alexandra Barker investigates the neural circuits that govern the intersection of innate threat processing and foraging behavior. Her research focuses on the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region critical for anxiety and stress responses, and its GABAergic neurons. In her most-cited work (2023, 7 citations), she demonstrated that BNST GABA neurons are necessary for mice to adjust their foraging strategies after encountering a predator—whether robotic or live. By training mice to procure food and then exposing them to threats, Barker revealed a causal link between BNST activity and post-threat behavioral flexibility, a finding with implications for understanding survival circuits and anxiety disorders. Her complementary study (2023, 2 citations) further solidifies this mechanism. Though early in her career, Barker’s work has already garnered attention for its innovative use of robotic predators and its translational potential. Her contributions illuminate how ancient neural pathways balance the drive to eat with the need to avoid danger, offering a framework for studying maladaptive threat responses in humans.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 2