Amy Arnsten

Arnsten studies the unique molecular mechanisms that regulate the higher cortical circuits that govern cognition, and the alterations that can lead to cognitive disorders. Much of her work has focused on the prefrontal cortex, a recently evolved brain region that generates working memory, abstract thought, and top down control, including the executive functions. Arnsten's lab discovered a process termed Dynamic Network Connectivity, whereby neuromodulators can open or close potassium channels on prefrontal cortical dendritic spines to rapidly alter synaptic connectivity, and coordinate arousal state with cognitive state.^[1] She was the first to discover how exposure to an acute, uncontrollable stress causes the prefrontal cortex to go "off-line", reviewed in,^[2] and how dysregulation of stress signaling pathways with advancing age confers vulnerability to tau pathology, e.g. in Alzheimer's disease, reviewed in.^[3] She also discovered mechanisms to strengthen prefrontal connectivity, including stimulation of alpha-2A-adrenoceptors on spine.^[4] Her work has identified mechanisms to protect and strengthen prefrontal cortex, leading to the successful translation of two treatments currently in clinical use: the alpha-2A-adrenoceptor agonist, guanfacine for disorders of the prefrontal cortex such as ADHD, autism and delirium, and prazosin for treating PTSD.^{[citation needed]}

Arnsten grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, and graduated from Columbia High School in 1972. She received a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Brown University in 1976, where she was the first to create the neuroscience major, and a PhD in neuroscience from UC San Diego in 1981. She completed postdoctoral research at Cambridge University with Susan Iversen and at Yale University with Patricia Goldman-Rakic.^[5]