Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, PhD

Northeastern University and MIT

Distinguished Speaker

Wednesday, January 30 2019 3:30-5:00PM Bousfield A106

Abstract: Psychiatric neuroimaging has been based primarily on group inferences, but this research has not fundamentally altered patient diagnosis or treatment. The future quality of healthcare in psychiatry will benefit from a timely translation of basic research findings into more effective and efficient patient care. I will describe ways in which the intrinsic functional architecture of the human brain, as elucidated by resting state networks (RSNs), can provide neuro-markers supporting 1) early identification of individuals at risk for mental health difficulties, so that perventive treatment can reduce or even avert future difficulties, 2) neuroprediction, aimed at personalized or precision medicine targeted for selection of an optimal treatment program, and 3) cutting-edge, noninvasive, behavioral interventions such as mindfulness based real-time fMRI neurofeedback, used to augment current available treatments and limit the progression of psychiatric disorders.

Bio: Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli is a Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) Imaging Center at Northeastern University with affiliation also at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. Her primary mission is to understand the brain basis of psychiatric disorders and to promote the translation of this knowledge into clinical practice. Towards this end, she employs multimodal neuroimaging techniques to investigate the pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. Her goals are to discover biomarkers for improved diagnosis, early detection (potentiating early intervention and possibly prevention), prediction of the therapeutic response (targeted towards precision medicine), and development of novel therapeutic techniques (e.g., real-time fMRI neurofeedback) with the hope of improving (or augmenting) currently available treatments. A secondary goal of her research is to develop functional imaging analysis tools to share with clinicians and the neuroimaging community at large.

Visitors from UCHC are encouraged to use the UCHC-Storrs shuttle service. Talks can also be joined remotely. Please contact us if you are interested in meeting with the speaker.

 

Vincent Gracco, PhD

Wednesday December 5, 2018 1:30-2:30 PM Arjona 307

Haskins and McGill University

Abstract: A comprehensive understanding of the neural processes for speech production is critical for theory and practice with direct influence on the capability for early identification of typical and atypical development and aging and the development of innovative and optimized treatment regimes. For the most part, the neural processes instantiated in models and theory are incomplete due to an almost exclusive focus on task-induced activation (TIA) and the positive BOLD response (PBR), to the exclusion of task-induced deactivation (TID) and the negative BOLD response (NBR). A related limitation are approaches that fail to fully account for the complex network level interactions that contribute to both sensorimotor and cognitive control for speech. Our recent approach focuses on the identification of functional networks (FN) and the contribution of both activation and deactivation, to gain a comprehensive representation of the neural processes for speech production. The approach is providing insight into brain-behavior relations and in identifying typical and atypical neural organization not easily identified using standard fMRI approaches. The presentation will include recent data on the positive and negative BOLD signal contributions to speech production including an overview of the potential importance of the negative BOLD signal. In addition, neuroimaging data on individuals who stutter will be presented as a model to understand the impact of neurodevelopmental deficits on neural organization.

Bio: Vincent Gracco is currently a Senior Scientist and Vice President of Scientific Operations at Haskins Laboratories. He was a Professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University from 1999-2015 and was Director of the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University from 2008-2015. His research focuses on the neuroscience of human communication using multiple neuroimaging modalities and physiological techniques. Current research areas include the neural control of spoken language, sensorimotor dysfunction associated with stuttering and other speech motor disorders, speech motor learning, bilingualism and the relationship between language and music.

Visitors from UCHC are encouraged to use the UCHC-Storrs shuttle service. Talks can also be joined remotely. Please contact us if you are interested in meeting with the speaker.

David C. Steffens, M.D., M.H.S.

UCONN Health, Department of Psychiatry

Wednesday, November 7 2018 1:30-2:30PM Arjona 307

Abstract: Depression in late life has been associated with cognitive decline and new onset of dementia. Recent studies have linked the presence of neuroticism with cognitive decline among older depressed adults. Structural Imaging studies in geriatric depression have found that hippocampal volume and burden of white matter hyperintensities are associated with cognitive outcomes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has recently been used to study late-life depression. Preliminary findings of fMRI in older adults have examined the relationships of neuroticism and depression, identifying the medial prefrontal cortex as a key area in emotion regulation and susceptibility to depression.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Steffens has been funded by the NIH for over twenty-five years. His research focuses on links between late-life depression and subsequent cognitive decline and development of dementia. Assessments include structural and functional brain imaging, neuropsychological testing, blood work for peripheral markers and genetics, personality assessment, functional status, and measures of stress and social support.

Visitors from UCHC are encouraged to use the UCHC-Storrs shuttle service. Talks can also be joined remotely. Please contact us if you are interested in meeting with the speaker.