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Tracey Shors

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tracey Shors
Shors in 2018
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Alabama
University of Southern California[1]
Known forResearch on trauma, memory, neurogenesis
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology and Neuroscience
InstitutionsRutgers University

Tracey Shors is a neuroscientist and distinguished professor in behavioral neuroscience, systems neuroscience, and psychology as well as a member of the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University.[1] She is currently vice chair and director of graduate studies in the department of psychology.[2]

Shors was involved in the initial studies on neurogenesis. Also, she developed MAP Training (Mental And Physical Training), which combines mental training with meditation and physical training with aerobic exercise.[3]

Career

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Shors received her doctorate from the University of Southern California. She continued with postdoctoral training at USC and worked at Princeton University and Genentech before joining the faculty at Rutgers University in 1998.[1]

She is a distinguished professor in behavioral neuroscience, systems neuroscience, and psychology as well as a member of the Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University. She is currently vice chair and director of graduate studies in the department of psychology.

Neurogenesis

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Shors was involved in the initial studies on neurogenesis. Her lab at Rutgers in collaboration with Elizabeth Gould’s lab at Princeton, were the first to report that new neurons in the hippocampus are involved in processes of learning and memory.[4] She also conducted early research on sex differences in the brain and how they may contribute to the high incidence of depression, anxiety and PTSD in women.[5]

MAP Training

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Based on her research,[6] she developed MAP Training (Mental And Physical Training).[7] MAP Training combines mental training with meditation and physical training with aerobic exercise.[8] Since 2012, her lab has been providing MAP Training to people with depression, trauma history, anxiety and HIV, as well as those living with the stress and trauma of everyday life.[9] They have documented positive outcomes in both mental and physical health. Specifically, her lab reported that the combination of meditation and aerobic exercise can lessen depression, anxiety and traumatic thoughts about the past.[7][10][11] The combination was also reported to increase whole body oxygen consumption, synchronized brain activity, and self-worth.[10] Her studies further determined that doing both activities together was better than doing either mediation or aerobic exercise alone.[11][12] Shors is currently writing a book about trauma and the brain with Flatiron Press/MacMillan[13] to be published in spring of 2021.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Tracey, Shors. "Tracey Shors". sites.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Shors, Tracey". psych.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Tracey Shors Bio".
  4. ^ Shors, Tracey; Miesegaes, George; Beylin, Anna; Gould, Elizabeth; Zhao, Mingrui; Rydel, Tracy (15 March 2001). "Neurogenesis in the adult is involved in the formation of trace memories". Nature. 410 (6826): 372–376. Bibcode:2001Natur.410..372S. doi:10.1038/35066584. PMID 11268214. S2CID 4430850.
  5. ^ Shors, Tracey (19 Feb 2016). "A trip down memory lane about sex differences in the brain". Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 371 (1688): 371. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0124. PMC 4785907. PMID 26833842.
  6. ^ Shors, Tracey. "How to Save New Brain Cells". Scientific American. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b Shors, Tracey; Olson, Ryan; Bates, Marsha; Selby, Edward; Alderman, Brandon (9 Sep 2014). "Mental and Physical (MAP) Training: A Neurogenesis-Inspired Intervention that Enhances Health in Humans". Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 115 (115): 3–9. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2014.08.012. PMC 4535923. PMID 25219804.
  8. ^ Burfoot, Amby (June 6, 2018). "Study finds a combination of meditation and aerobic exercise can help women after trauma". The Washington Post.
  9. ^ Martin, Rachel (September 28, 2018). "Memory and Trauma". NPR.
  10. ^ a b Alderman, Brandon; Olson, Ryan; Shors, Tracey (2 Feb 2016). "MAP training: combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression and rumination while enhancing synchronized brain activity". Nature. Transl Psychiatry (6): 726. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.225. PMC 4872427. PMID 26836414.
  11. ^ a b Shors, Tracey; Chang, Han; Millon, Emma (23 April 2018). "MAP Training My Brain™: Meditation Plus Aerobic Exercise Lessens Trauma of Sexual Violence More Than Either Activity Alone". Frontiers in Neuroscience. 12: 211. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00211. PMC 5924799. PMID 29740264.
  12. ^ Shors, Tracey; Millon, Emma (2019). "Taking neurogenesis out of the lab and into the world with MAP Train My Brain™". Behavioural Brain Research. 376: 112154. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112154. PMID 31421141. S2CID 199577142.
  13. ^ "Flatiron Books". macmillan Publishers. macmillan. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Dr. Tracey Shors". Park & Fine. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
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