Kelly Lambert
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-13-2025
Abstract
On February 13, 2026, Chapman University hosted the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, Dr. Kelly Lambert of the University of Richmond, to present a lecture titled “Prehistoric Prozac: Enhancing Emotional and Neural Resilience with Effort-Based Rewards”. The talk addressed the concept of “behaviorceuticals”, a term coined by Dr. Lambert to emphasize the ability of behavior to alter neurochemicals in adaptive ways. Considering that a large part of our brain's real estate is devoted to the movement of our bodies, sedentary lifestyles may negatively impact neural health. Perhaps behaviorceuticals represent the preferred antidepressant (i.e., Prehistoric Prozac) of our active human ancestors. To learn more about the effectiveness of behavioral-focused therapeutic strategies, Dr. Lambert’s team developed an animal model that builds connections between physical effort and rewarding outcomes (i.e., effort-based rewards). The findings indicate higher levels of emotional resilience markers in the trained animals-- results that may have translational value for humans.
Dr. Kelly Lambert is the Trawick Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Richmond where she investigates experience-based neuroplasticity and teaches multiple neuroscience courses. Professor Lambert has approximately 80 scholarly publications and has written two neuroscience textbooks and three mainstream books including Lifting Depression, The Lab Rat Chronicles, and Well-Grounded. She is currently writing Wild Brains: Translating Optimal Mental Health Strategies from the Bush to the Bedside. Lambert was awarded the Virginia Professor of the Year award in 2008 and, more recently, was recognized as one of three national finalists for Baylor University’s Robert Cherry Award for Great Teaching. In 2018, Lambert was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award given by the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society. Her research targeting connections between physical effort and emotional resilience was featured on CBS Sunday Morning and her rat-driving research has been featured in over 1500 news stories across the world, including the Netflix series The Hidden Lives of Pets and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Rat City. In 2019, Lambert described her behaviorceuticals research perspective in a TEDx Bermuda talk. In 2023, she received the Society for Neuroscience’s Science Educator Award for her scientific outreach endeavors.
Recommended Citation
Phi Beta Kappa, Psi of California Chapter at Chapman University, "Kelly Lambert" (2025). Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars. 2.
https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/pbk_visiting_scholars/2