Heather Brenhouse

“American Sports Story” explores Hernandez’s early life and football career, both of which may have contributed to his violent behavior.

Neuroscientists at Northeastern are using rats to understand how trauma in infancy makes children, but especially girls, more likely to develop anxiety and other similar disorders later in life.

“Every experience is a brand-new experience for a baby,” says Northeastern professor Heather Brenhouse, who studies developmental neuroscience. So when they find themselves suddenly with a slice of cheese stuck to their face because their parents are joining a viral social media craze, “the babies have no reason to believe that this is good, bad, strange, or commonplace. They are learning with each experience.”

Heather Brenhouse, an assistant professor of psychology, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore the connection between childhood trauma and adolescent mental illness.

Heather Brenhouse, a newly appointed assistant professor of behavioral neuroscience, examines the impact of early life stress on adolescent behavioral disorders.