Dr Witt’s research looked into the role of the dopamine D1 receptor in specific symptoms of psychiatric disorders. The DSM is used to diagnose conditions, but Dr Witt looked at what environmental or genetic factors might cause the disorders. There are many overlapping symptoms across disorders and comorbidities, so it’s about trying to parse apart what might be leading to reduced motivation across multiple disorders, for example.

“I looked at the role of dopamine in anhedonia, which is a loss of pleasure. So things that you might have enjoyed that you don't enjoy anymore. And then also dopamine’s role in lack of motivation doing things, and in asocial behaviour which is a reduced need for social interaction.

“I worked with an animal model of rats that have a genetic reduction in the D1 receptor. So I could ask ‘OK, in this model that has reduced D1 function, do they have less motivation? Do they have less social behaviour? Are they getting less pleasure out of things?’ Essentially my PhD looked at trying to parse apart one aspect of what might be leading to some symptoms that we see.”

If an individual is struggling with schizophrenia, for example, the psychosis, hallucinations, and delusions can be treated quite successfully with pharmacology, but there isn’t a treatment for the lack of motivation and asocial behaviour that is associated with poor functional outcome.

“Not being able to to maintain relationships or your job or your social life when you’re lacking motivation, not wanting to engage in social things, and experiencing that loss of pleasure leads to poorer outcomes,” says Dr Witt.

“SSRIs might help your depressive symptoms but they don't make you be more social or more motivated. So essentially the importance of it is just trying to understand what receptor or neurotransmitter might be involved in those symptoms so we could develop treatment for them to improve quality of life overall.

“It's not just medication—obviously there are a lot of social factors and systematic factors like health that goes along with that. But in terms of that pharmacological standpoint, current treatment is missing an aspect of that.”

Dr Witt is originally from the USA, and attended a small liberal arts college in Ohio which encouraged students to go abroad for a trimester exchange. She decided to come to New Zealand for exchange in 2016 and studied cognitive and behavioural neuroscience at Victoria University as well as taking papers on philosophy and New Zealand history.

“It was a fun trimester. I really loved Wellington, loved Vic, loved the experience, but then had to go back and finish my undergrad. I left my bank account open when I left with a dollar in it, thinking maybe someday I’ll come back.”

When it came time to consider her postgraduate options, she wasn’t drawn to anywhere in the States.

“I knew that I loved neuroscience and the degree that I got, and I wanted to continue that, but I didn’t have a specific career goal in mind. I really enjoyed New Zealand so I applied for the Master of Science in Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience and came back in 2018.”

During the first year of her Master’s, Dr Witt did lab rotations for different papers, and one of those rotations was with Professor Bart Ellenbroek in his behavioural neurogenetic lab. Professor Ellenbroek ended up becoming Dr Witt’s supervisor for her PhD.

“When I got back into the lab after COVID-19 hit, the results I was seeing in my experiments made me think I could follow up on it, and all the ideas started flowing, and I thought ‘I might as well keep going and upgrade to a PhD. So I didn’t finish my Master’s, I got a BSc honours for the first year of my Master’s and then upgraded to my PhD.”

Dr Witt finished her PhD in July 2023, and undertook some research assistant work for Professor Ellenbroek, and then some further research assistant work in biology.

“The last six months of your thesis you’re not thinking about what you’re going to do after. You’re just focusing on getting it done. I knew I wanted to stay in New Zealand—even my parents knew I wouldn’t be returning to the States.”

While she was doing her research assistant work an opportunity came up with the School of Education as a lecturer for an educational neuroscience paper over the summer trimester.

“I hadn’t taught in education before, but all of the methods and research in the course is based on neuroscience. It’s applied neuroscience into education,” says Dr Witt. “Vic is the only university that offers educational neuroscience in New Zealand.

“Essentially it’s a mix of psychology and education, like cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, but working with the application in schools. For example, what are the mechanisms of learning? When we sit down and are trying to learn how to read, what’s happening in the brain? There are methods that we can use that align more with how the brain is working. How can we best teach kids and have the best outcomes.”

Dr Witt also looks at other interventions to help learning outcomes such as mindfulness in the classroom.

“We know that’s really beneficial for children in terms of executive function and overall wellbeing. There are ways to implement that in the classroom. So sometimes it’s not necessarily looking directly at how we teach but other things that we can do to improve learning outcomes. We know physical activity is really good for the brain. If kids can have more breaks throughout the day with a little bit of physical activity, can that help learning?”

Postgraduate study was a good experience for Dr Witt to figure out what she wanted to do within neuroscience. “Having small classes and getting to know your supervisor and see what other researchers are doing is really good in terms of getting hands on experience. The way Vic has it set up fosters that collaboration. It’s very good at connecting you with networks of people and opportunities.”

Learn more about studying Educational Psychology or Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.