Alexandra CohenAssistant Professor

Research Interests

Cognitive neuroscience, development, learning, memory, motivation, emotion 

Research Areas 

Dr. Cohen’s research focuses on understanding the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying how motivationally salient learning experiences shape lasting memories across development. Her work lies at the intersection of affective, computational, and developmental cognitive neuroscience and is grounded in insights from behavioral neuroscience in non-human animals. She uses a multimodal approach, including behavioral paradigms, neuroimaging, psychophysiology, and computational modeling.  

Current work in the Learning, Understanding, Memory, & Neurodevelopment (LUMeN) Lab aims to determine how reward states – both in the lab and in the real world – modulate the formation of memories that can carry over to guide future behaviors across development. A related area of research focuses on how emotional experiences influence memory formation from childhood to adulthood. The lab also investigates how the complexity of the learning environment influences motivated learning, memory, and brain function across age. This research may ultimately inform strategies that leverage adaptive developmental changes in motivated learning and memory mechanisms to improve learning, decision-making, and outcomes for young people. 

• PSYC 207: Brain and Behavior

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