Dr. Kelly Lambert, Behavioral Neuroscience professor at the University of Richmond, visits campus as Phi Beta Kappa's 2025 Visiting Scholar. Join us for her lecture: 

Prehistoric Prozac: Enhancing Emotional and Neural Resilience with Effort-Based Rewards

Although extensive research efforts have been directed toward identifying effective therapies for depression, current treatment outcomes remain disappointing. The pharmaceutical approach (e.g., antidepressants) has been at the forefront of therapeutic options despite controversial evidence of the chemical imbalance targeted by the drugs. Pivoting from traditional pharmaceutical approaches, Dr. Lambert introduced the term behaviorceuticals to emphasize the ability of behavior to alter neurochemicals in adaptive ways. Considering that a large part of our brain's real estate is devoted to the movement of our bodies, sedentary lifestyles may negatively impact neural health. Perhaps behaviorceuticals represent the preferred antidepressant (i.e., Prehistoric Prozac) of our active human ancestors. To learn more about the effectiveness of behavioral-focused therapeutic strategies, her team developed an animal model that builds connections between physical effort and rewarding outcomes (i.e., effort-based rewards). Findings indicate higher levels of emotional resilience markers in the trained animals--results that may have translational value for humans.