She investigates how early developmental exposure to drugs (such as antidepressants) and environmental toxicants (such as bishpenol A and polychlorinated biphenyls) elicits altered neurobehavioral outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like behaviors, emotion-related behaviors, and learning and memory deficits in rodent models. She is also interested in how such exposure influences protein and neurotransmitter expression/activity and epigenetic alterations in specific brain regions that modulate those behavioral changes. Dr. Sprowles’ behavioral neuroscience research spans the fields of psychology and neuroscience.