Amy Bauernfeind

Amy Bauernfeind

Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Anthropology
Vice Chair of Education
PhD, The George Washington University
research interests:
  • Molecular expression
  • Quantitative neuroanatomy
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contact info:

office hours:

  • By appointment

mailing address:

  • Washington University
    CB 8108
    One Brookings Drive
    St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

A comparative neurobiologist, Bauernfiend is interested in how the biology of the brain underlies a species' particular cognitive specializations and behavioral repertoire.

Her research program investigates neuroanatomical and molecular variation in primates to address questions of evolutionary significance, particularly with regard to the unique cognitive abilities of humans. She uses two approaches when evaluating research questions of these types: molecular expression and quantitative neuroanatomical techniques.

Molecular expression

Bauernfiend's studies of molecular expression (RNA-seq and high throughput proteomics) are informed by our knowledge of the anatomical and functional specificity of a brain region. This perspective is critical in order to isolate differences in expression to functionally distinct regions of the brain or classes of neurons.

Quantitative neuroanatomy

Bauernfiend uses modern quantitative neuroanatomical techniques to investigate how variation in the volume of brain regions and in neuronal composition may underlie behavioral diversity. Additional work pertains to differences in regional neuronal morphology across species to assess how the complexity of neuronal structure supports species-specific cognition.

 

Selected Publications

Bauernfeind AL, Soderblom EJ, Turner ME, Moseley MA, Ely JJ, Hof PR, Sherwood CC, Wray GA, Babbitt CC. Evolutionary divergence of gene and protein expression in the brains of humans and chimpanzees. Genome Biology and Evolution. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evv132

Bauernfeind AL, Reyzer ML, Caprioli RM, Ely JJ, Babbitt CC, Wray GA, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. High spatial resolution proteomic comparison of the brain in humans and chimpanzees. Journal of Comparative Neurology. doi: 10.1002/cne.23777

Bauernfeind AL, Barks SK, Duka T, Grossman LI, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. Aerobic glycolysis in the primate brain: reconsidering the implications for growth and maintenance. Brain Structure & Function 219: 1149-1167.

Bauernfeind AL, Babbitt CC. The appropriation of glucose through primate neurodevelopment. Journal of Human Evolution 77: 132-140.

Barks SK, Bauernfeind AL, Bonar CJ, Cranfield MR, de Sousa AA, Erwin JM, Hopkins WD, Lewandowski AH, Mudakikwa A, Phillips KA, Raghanti MA, Stimpson CD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. Variable temporal-insular cortex neuroanatomy in primates suggests bottleneck effect in eastern gorillas. Journal of Comparative Neurology 522: 844-860.

Bianchi S, Stimpson CD, Duka T, Larsen MD, Janssen WG, Collins Z, Bauernfeind AL, Schapiro SJ, Baze WB, McArthur MJ, Hopkins WD, Wildman DE, Lipovich L, Kuzawa CW, Jacobs B, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. Synaptogenesis and development of pyramidal neuron dendritic morphology in the chimpanzee neocortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 110: 10395-10401.

Bauernfeind AL, de Sousa AA, Avasthi T, Dobson SD, Raghanti MA, Lewandowski AH, Zilles K, Semendeferi K, Allman JM, Craig AD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. A volumetric comparison of the insular cortex and its subregions in primates. Journal of Human Evolution 64: 263-279.