Rachel Alison Adcock | Scholars@Duke

Rachel Alison Adcock
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Dr. Adcock received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Emory University and her MD and PhD in Neurobiology from Yale University. She completed her psychiatry residency training at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at UC-San Francisco and did neurosciences research as a postdoctoral fellow at UC-SF, the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and Stanford before joining the Duke faculty in 2007. Her work has been funded by NIDA, NIMH, NSF and Alfred P. Sloan and Klingenstein Fellowships in the Neurosciences, and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and honored by NARSAD awards, the 2012 National Academy of Sciences Seymour Benzer Lectureship, and the 2015 ABAI BF Skinner Lectureship. The overall goals of her research program are to understand how brain systems for motivation support learning and to use mechanistic understanding of how behavior changes biology to meet the challenge of developing new therapies appropriate for early interventions for mental illness.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Translational Neuroscience, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences 2017
Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences 2018
Associate Professor of Neurobiology, Neurobiology, Basic Science Departments 2017
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2017
Member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences 2007
Affiliate of the Center for Brain Imaging and Analysis, Duke-UNC Center for Brain Imaging and Analysis, Institutes and Centers 2007
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers 2008

Contact Information

Box 90999, Durham, NC 27708-0999
Center For Cognitive Neuroscie, Durham, NC 27708
(919) 681-7486
Motivated Memory Lab

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- M.D., Yale University School of Medicine 1999
- Ph.D., Yale University 1999
Duke Appointment History
- Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Translational Neuroscience, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences 2007 - 2017
- Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, Neurobiology, Basic Science Departments 2008 - 2017
- Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2011 - 2017
Recognition
In the News
- AUG 17, 2018 Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
  
  Adcock to Direct Center for Cognitive Neuroscience
- MAR 4, 2016 NPR
  
  Could you hack your brain to get more motivated?
- MAR 2, 2016
  
  Self-Motivation Can Help Tune Your Brain
- JUN 26, 2015
  
  Allen Song Named Interim Director of Brain Institute
- OCT 29, 2013 WUNC Radio
  
  How a sugar pill can treat mental illness
Awards & Honors
- Sloan Research Fellowship-Neuroscience. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 2008
Research
Selected Grants
- Duke CTSA (KL2) awarded by National Institutes of Health 2018 - 2023
- Duke CTSA (TL1) awarded by National Institutes of Health 2018 - 2023
- Targeting reward dysfunction as a mechanism to improve smoking cessation awarded by National Institutes of Health 2016 - 2021
- Modeling the Neurobehavioral Basis of Extrinsic and Volitional Motivation in ADHD awarded by National Institutes of Health 2017 - 2020
- Smoking/Nicotine Dependence in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) awarded by National Institutes of Health 2017 - 2019
- Environment Cue-Reactivity: Brain, Behavior and Clinical Outcomes in Tobacco Use awarded by National Institutes of Health 2014 - 2019
- Characterizing Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive Control awarded by National Institutes of Health 2010 - 2019
- Instructed Activation of the Human Dopaminergic Midbrain Using Real-Time fMRI in Nicotine-Dependent Individuals awarded by Brain and Behavior Research Foundation 2016 - 2018
- Basic predoctoral training in neuroscience awarded by National Institutes of Health 1992 - 2018
- Increasing Motivation in ADHD Via Self-activation of VTA awarded by National Institutes of Health 2016 - 2018
- Connectivity of the Dopaminergic Midbrain During Learned Regulation of Intrinsic Motivation awarded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research 2014 - 2017
- BRAIN EAGER: Bayesian Models of Translational Neural Networks: Motivation and Reward awarded by National Science Foundation 2014 - 2017
- Acute and chronic nicotine modulation of reinforcement learning awarded by National Institutes of Health 2013 - 2017
- A Compute Cluster for Brain Imaging and Analysis awarded by National Institutes of Health 2016 - 2017
- Motivated Memory as Therapeutic Target awarded by National Institutes of Health 2011 - 2017
- Instructed Activation of the Human Dopaminergic Midbrain using Real-Time fMRI awarded by National Institutes of Health 2014 - 2016
- Training in Fundamental &Translational Neuroscience awarded by National Institutes of Health 2005 - 2016
- Brain Imaging Studies of Negative Reinforcement in Humans awarded by National Institutes of Health 2009 - 2015
- From Phenotype to Mechanism: Mapping the Pathways underlying Risky Choice awarded by National Institutes of Health 2009 - 2011
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Conference Papers
  - Clement, N, and Adcock, RA. "MOVE FASTER TO LEARN BETTER: EXPLORATION SPEED IMPACTS LEARNING ABOUT OBJECTS AND THEIR LOCATIONS." 2013. Link to Item
  - Murty, V, LaBar, K, and Adcock, RA. "THE ACTIVE AVOIDANCE OF THREAT ENHANCES NEURAL SENSITIVITY TO EXPECTANCY VIOLATION." 2013. Link to Item
  - Sumner, E, Duffy, K, and Adcock, RA. "DOPAMINERGIC MODULATION OF REWARD-MOTIVATED MEMORY." 2013. Link to Item
  - Johnson, EB, Wilson, J, Poh, J, Yaakub, S, Dorairaj, K, Rapisarda, A, Chee, M, Chong, SA, Subramaniam, M, Keefe, R, Kraus, M, Thong, J, Bong, YL, and Adcock, RA. "Midbrain Modulation of Hippocampus Dependent Learning in Singaporeans at Ultra High Risk for the Development of Schizophrenia." April 15, 2012. Link to Item
  - Murty, VP, Chong, SA, Subramaniam, M, Keefe, R, Kraus, M, Poh, J, Dorairaj, K, Thong, J, Bong, YL, and Adcock, RA. "Amygdala Reactivity in Singaporeans at Ultra High Risk for the Development of Schizophrenia." May 1, 2011. Link to Item
  - Johnson, EB, and Adcock, RA. "Generalized Enhancement of Episodic Memory by Prior Reward Experience." May 1, 2010. Link to Item
- Journal Articles
  - Scult, MA, Knodt, AR, Hanson, JL, Ryoo, M, Adcock, RA, Hariri, AR, and Strauman, TJ. "Individual differences in regulatory focus predict neural response to reward." Social Neuroscience 12, no. 4 (August 2017): 419-429. Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Murty, VP, Ballard, IC, and Adcock, RA. "Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex Predict Distinct Timescales of Activation in the Human Ventral Tegmental Area." Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) 27, no. 2 (February 2017): 1660-1669. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, Tompary, A, Adcock, RA, and Davachi, L. "Selectivity in post-encoding connectivity with high-level visual cortex is associated with reward-motivated memory." The Journal of Neuroscience (December 5, 2016).
  - Murty, VP, LaBar, KS, and Adcock, RA. "Distinct medial temporal networks encode surprise during motivation by reward versus punishment." Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 134 Pt A (October 2016): 55-64. Full Text
  - Wang, C, Ji, F, Hong, Z, Poh, JS, Krishnan, R, Lee, J, Rekhi, G, Keefe, RSE, Adcock, RA, Wood, SJ, Fornito, A, Pasternak, O, Chee, MWL, and Zhou, J. "Disrupted salience network functional connectivity and white-matter microstructure in persons at risk for psychosis: findings from the LYRIKS study." Psychological medicine 46, no. 13 (October 2016): 2771-2783. Full Text
  - MacInnes, JJ, Dickerson, KC, Chen, N-K, and Adcock, RA. "Cognitive Neurostimulation: Learning to Volitionally Sustain Ventral Tegmental Area Activation." Neuron 89, no. 6 (March 2, 2016): 1331-1342. Full Text
  - McClernon, FJ, Conklin, CA, Kozink, RV, Adcock, RA, Sweitzer, MM, Addicott, MA, Chou, Y-H, Chen, N-K, Hallyburton, MB, and DeVito, AM. "Hippocampal and Insular Response to Smoking-Related Environments: Neuroimaging Evidence for Drug-Context Effects in Nicotine Dependence." Neuropsychopharmacology 41, no. 3 (February 2016): 877-885. Full Text
  - Chiew, KS, Stanek, JK, and Adcock, RA. "Reward Anticipation Dynamics during Cognitive Control and Episodic Encoding: Implications for Dopamine." Frontiers in human neuroscience 10 (January 2016): 555-. Full Text
  - Klauser, P, Zhou, J, Lim, JKW, Poh, JS, Zheng, H, Tng, HY, Krishnan, R, Lee, J, Keefe, RSE, Adcock, RA, Wood, SJ, Fornito, A, and Chee, MWL. "Lack of Evidence for Regional Brain Volume or Cortical Thickness Abnormalities in Youths at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: Findings From the Longitudinal Youth at Risk Study." Schizophrenia Bulletin 41, no. 6 (November 2015): 1285-1293. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, Shermohammed, M, Smith, DV, Carter, RM, Huettel, SA, and Adcock, RA. "Resting state networks distinguish human ventral tegmental area from substantia nigra." Neuroimage 100 (October 2014): 580-589. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, and Adcock, RA. "Enriched encoding: reward motivation organizes cortical networks for hippocampal detection of unexpected events." Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) 24, no. 8 (August 2014): 2160-2168. Full Text
  - Kollins, SH, and Adcock, RA. "ADHD, altered dopamine neurotransmission, and disrupted reinforcement processes: Implications for smoking and nicotine dependence." Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 52 (July 3, 2014): 70-78. (Review) Full Text
  - Dandash, O, Fornito, A, Lee, J, Keefe, RSE, Chee, MWL, Adcock, RA, Pantelis, C, Wood, SJ, and Harrison, BJ. "Altered striatal functional connectivity in subjects with an at-risk mental state for psychosis." Schizophrenia Bulletin 40, no. 4 (July 2014): 904-913. Full Text
  - Kollins, SH, and Adcock, RA. "ADHD, altered dopamine neurotransmission, and disrupted reinforcement processes: implications for smoking and nicotine dependence." Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 52 (July 2014): 70-78. (Review) Full Text
  - Braver, TS, Krug, MK, Chiew, KS, Kool, W, Westbrook, JA, Clement, NJ, Adcock, RA, Barch, DM, Botvinick, MM, Carver, CS, Cools, R, Custers, R, Dickinson, A, Dweck, CS, Fishbach, A, Gollwitzer, PM, Hess, TM, Isaacowitz, DM, Mather, M, Murayama, K, Pessoa, L, Samanez-Larkin, GR, Somerville, LH, and MOMCAI group, . "Mechanisms of motivation-cognition interaction: challenges and opportunities." Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience 14, no. 2 (June 2014): 443-472. (Review) Full Text
  - Clark, K, Cain, MS, Adcock, RA, and Mitroff, SR. "Context matters: the structure of task goals affects accuracy in multiple-target visual search." Appl Ergon 45, no. 3 (May 2014): 528-533. Full Text Link to Item
  - Braver, TS, Krug, MK, Chiew, KS, Kool, W, Westbrook, JA, Clement, NJ, Adcock, RA, Barch, DM, Botvinick, MM, Carver, CS, Cools, R, Custers, R, Dickinson, A, Dweck, CS, Fishbach, A, Gollwitzer, PM, Hess, TM, Isaacowitz, DM, Mather, M, Murayama, K, Pessoa, L, Samanez-Larkin, GR, and Somerville, LH. "Mechanisms of motivation-cognition interaction: Challenges and opportunities." Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience 14, no. 2 (2014): 443-472. Full Text
  - Clark, K, Cain, MS, Adcock, RA, and Mitroff, SR. "Context matters: The structure of task goals affects accuracy in multiple-target visual search." Applied Ergonomics 45, no. 3 (January 1, 2014): 528-533. Full Text
  - Yaakub, SN, Dorairaj, K, Poh, JS, Asplund, CL, Krishnan, R, Lee, J, Keefe, RSE, Adcock, RA, Wood, SJ, and Chee, MWL. "Preserved working memory and altered brain activation in persons at risk for psychosis." The American Journal of Psychiatry 170, no. 11 (November 2013): 1297-1307. Full Text
  - Libertus, K, Gibson, J, Hidayatallah, NZ, Hirtle, J, Adcock, RA, and Needham, A. "Size matters: how age and reaching experiences shape infants' preferences for different sized objects." Infant Behavior & Development 36, no. 2 (April 2013): 189-198. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, Ballard, IC, Macduffie, KE, Krebs, RM, and Adcock, RA. "Hippocampal networks habituate as novelty accumulates." Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) 20, no. 4 (March 19, 2013): 229-235. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, Labar, KS, and Adcock, RA. "Threat of punishment motivates memory encoding via amygdala, not midbrain, interactions with the medial temporal lobe." The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 32, no. 26 (June 2012): 8969-8976. Full Text
  - Ballard, IC, Murty, VP, Carter, RM, MacInnes, JJ, Huettel, SA, and Adcock, RA. "Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex drives mesolimbic dopaminergic regions to initiate motivated behavior." The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 31, no. 28 (July 2011): 10340-10346. Full Text
  - Whitford, TJ, Mathalon, DH, Shenton, ME, Roach, BJ, Bammer, R, Adcock, RA, Bouix, S, Kubicki, M, De Siebenthal, J, Rausch, AC, Schneiderman, JS, and Ford, JM. "Electrophysiological and diffusion tensor imaging evidence of delayed corollary discharges in patients with schizophrenia." Psychological Medicine 41, no. 5 (May 2011): 959-969. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, Ritchey, M, Adcock, RA, and LaBar, KS. "Reprint of: fMRI studies of successful emotional memory encoding: a quantitative meta-analysis." Neuropsychologia 49, no. 4 (March 2011): 695-705. Full Text Link to Item
  - Murty, VP, LaBar, KS, Hamilton, DA, and Adcock, RA. "Is all motivation good for learning? Dissociable influences of approach and avoidance motivation in declarative memory." Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) 18, no. 11 (January 2011): 712-717. Full Text
  - Murty, VP, Ritchey, M, Adcock, RA, and LaBar, KS. "fMRI studies of successful emotional memory encoding: A quantitative meta-analysis." Neuropsychologia 48, no. 12 (October 2010): 3459-3469. Full Text
  - Shohamy, D, and Adcock, RA. "Dopamine and adaptive memory." Trends in Cognitive Sciences 14, no. 10 (October 2010): 464-472. (Review) Full Text
  - Han, S, Huettel, SA, Raposo, A, Adcock, RA, and Dobbins, IG. "Functional significance of striatal responses during episodic decisions: recovery or goal attainment?." The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience 30, no. 13 (March 2010): 4767-4775. Full Text
  - Dale, CL, Findlay, AM, Adcock, RA, Vertinski, M, Fisher, M, Genevsky, A, Aldebot, S, Subramaniam, K, Luks, TL, Simpson, GV, Nagarajan, SS, and Vinogradov, S. "Timing is everything: Neural response dynamics during syllable processing and its relation to higher-order cognition in schizophrenia and healthy comparison subjects." International Journal of Psychophysiology 75, no. 2 (2010): 183-193. Full Text
  - Adcock, RA, Dale, C, Fisher, M, Aldebot, S, Genevsky, A, Simpson, GV, Nagarajan, S, and Vinogradov, S. "When top-down meets bottom-up: auditory training enhances verbal memory in schizophrenia." Schizophrenia Bulletin 35, no. 6 (November 2009): 1132-1141. (Review) Full Text
  - Carter, RM, Macinnes, JJ, Huettel, SA, and Adcock, RA. "Activation in the VTA and nucleus accumbens increases in anticipation of both gains and losses." Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 3 (January 2009): 21-null. Full Text
  - Adcock, RA, Thangavel, A, Whitfield-Gabrieli, S, Knutson, B, and Gabrieli, JDE. "Reward-motivated learning: mesolimbic activation precedes memory formation." Neuron 50, no. 3 (May 2006): 507-517. Full Text
  - Knutson, B, and Adcock, RA. "Remembrance of rewards past." Neuron 45, no. 3 (2005): 331-332. Full Text
  - Adcock, RA, Constable, RT, Gore, JC, and Goldman-Rakic, PS. "Functional neuroanatomy of executive processes involved in dual-task performance." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 97, no. 7 (2000): 3567-3572. Full Text
  - Lane, JD, Adcock, RA, and Burnett, RE. "Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and cardiovascular responses to stress." Psychophysiology 29, no. 4 (July 1992): 461-470. Full Text
  - Lane, JD, Adcock, RA, Williams, RB, and Kuhn, CM. "Caffeine effects on cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to acute psychosocial stress and their relationship to level of habitual caffeine consumption." Psychosom Med 52, no. 3 (May 1990): 320-336. Link to Item
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Outreach & Engaged Scholarship
- Bass Connections Faculty Team Member . The Construction of Memory at Duke and in Durham: Using Memory Studies. August 2016 - May 2017 2016 - 2017
- Bass Connections Faculty Team Member. The Construction of Memory at Duke and in Durham: Using Memory Studies. August 2016 - May 2017 2016 - 2017

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

In the News

Awards & Honors

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Conference Papers

Journal Articles

Recent Courses

Outreach & Engaged Scholarship