Aspen Harter
Summer URG
Please provide a brief summary of your research.
Through SURG I was able to continue conducting a project on acute stress and aggression through adolescence and adulthood. Previous work has shown that stress increases aggressive behaviors in adult male rats against non-threatening juvenile intruders during a social interaction test. The current study aims to investigate whether this stress-induced aggressive behavior is dependent on the age of the male (adolescence vs. adulthood) and the age of the intruder (juvenile or same-age). The project also uses two nearly isogenic strains that have been bred to express heightened/lowered stress reactivity or depression-like behavior. Through this model we are able to evaluate if the aggressive behaviors we are observing are due to genetic predisposition as opposed to a reaction to procedures.
What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I think aggression and anger-based emotions in humans are painted in a unfairly negative light. It evolved as an alert or protection system in our history, and is simply a biological response. That being said there are a lot of behavioral disorders were an un-acceptable amount of aggression is produced and can be harmful to that person and/or the people around them. By looking at how stress through development affects aggressive behaviors in those with a predisposition to stress reactivity (as well as in general) we might be able to understand more about what is actually going on and how to properly address it.
What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I’ve always been very curious about what makes a person themselves. For a while I was content just reading paper and learning about neuroscience and psychology in classes, but at a certain point the questions I was asking were being answered with “We don’t actually know” or “I don’t know if that’s understood yet”. I decided I wanted to join a lab so I could start answering my questions myself, and after the first few months there I just fell in love with the day-day life of the job as well. Truly at this point I do research because its just fun.
Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Research is fun. Research also sucks a bit. Especially in this last summer, a lot of research is facing the fact that a test didn’t work, or the results look different than expected. While that can be exciting sometimes, sometimes its also just defeating. Over the years that I’ve been doing it though I’ve learned how to get back up, figure out what might’ve gone wrong, and do it better the next time. It is a very tricky thing and there are a lot of things to consider all the time, but that’s the fun of it I think. I used to describe myself as efficient, but doing research has made me more careful and diligent too.
Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I think everyone should spend time doing research. Its incredibly rewarding to get to pursue something that you are genuinely interested in. My biggest advice is to reach out to professors to get involved in their labs if you’re interested in their work! I think a lot of people find it scary, but the worst they can do is say no. Plus at Northwestern a lot of professors are here specifically to do research and are excited to engage with students interested as well.
What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Miley Cyrus’s career
What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
The movie Hoodwinked