DANIELA CALVIGIONI

Anxiety often begins during adolescence, a period when the brain is rapidly developing and hormones begin to fluctuate. Girls are affected about twice as often as boys, suggesting that sex hormones may shape how the brain processes emotions.

Danielas research explores how estrogen influences brain circuits that assign emotional value to experiences — determining what feels safe, threatening, or stressful. I have discovered a previously unknown estrogen-sensitive circuit in the cortex that responds to stress and promotes aversive emotional states. I propose that hormonal fluctuations during puberty can bias these circuits, increasing vulnerability to anxiety.

Using advanced brain imaging and molecular tools, she studies how estrogen reshapes neural activity and cellular states during development and stress. By uncovering how hormones interact with brain circuits, this work aims to reveal why some individuals become vulnerable to anxiety and to identify new targets for more precise and effective treatments.