Zachary P. Kilpatrick
Papers
2
Total Citations
9
H-Index
2
About
Zachary P. Kilpatrick investigates the neural circuits underlying innate threat processing and its influence on foraging behavior, bridging the gap between survival instincts and complex decision-making. His major contributions center on the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region critical for anxiety and stress responses. In his most cited work (2023, 7 citations), Kilpatrick demonstrated that BNST GABA neurons are necessary for mice to adjust foraging behavior after encountering a predator—whether robotic or live. By showing that these neurons mediate the switch from food-seeking to defensive avoidance, he revealed a key mechanism for how the brain balances risk and reward in real-world contexts. His follow-up study (2023, 2 citations) further refined this finding, emphasizing the BNST’s role in post-threat behavioral adaptation. Kilpatrick’s research has significant implications for understanding anxiety disorders, where threat processing becomes dysregulated, and for developing models of naturalistic behavior under predation pressure. His work stands out for its innovative use of robotic predators to standardize threat exposure, enabling precise dissection of neural pathways. With growing recognition, Kilpatrick is shaping how we think about the neural basis of survival behaviors.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2