Developed by Vladislav Staroselskiy
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About Research
Developmental Studies
| Assessing Neural Mechanisms of Injury in Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency |
| Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, GU Medical Center |
| Learning disabilities and motor deficits are common in people with inherited urea cycle disorders. However, the extent to which the deficits involve specific pathways in the brain is unknown. Furthermore, little is known about the underlying chemical basis of these difficulties. This project will study cognitive and motor dysfunction in patients who are female carriers of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) or are males with late onset OTCD. This project seeks to improve our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms that contribute to metabolic, neurocognitive and motor abnormalities in ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD), an X-linked inborn error of ureagenesis, and a major cause of neonatal encephalopathy leading to significant morbidity and mortality. |
| Participate in this study |
| MRI and EEG Studies of Dyslexia |
| Neurology |
| Principal Investigator: John VanMeter |
| This project examines the neurobiological basis of cognition and sensorimotor integration in children with and without dyslexia using behavioral , EEG, and structural and functional MRI procedures. This study takes an analytic approach to developmental dyslexia by focusing on the "building blocks" of action and cognition and their relationship to reading skill acquisition. The results from this study may be used to develop testing procedures that can be used to determine children at risk for dyslexia prior to their identification as having a learning disability. |
| Participate in this study |
| fMRI Studies of Phonological and Sensory Processing in Dyslexia |
| Center for the Study of Learning, GU Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Guinevere Eden, D.Phil – Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Director, Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown Unievrsity |
| This is a series of integrated studies combining behavioral measures with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the relationship between the disorders in phonological processing and visual motion processing in dyslexia. Specific questions addressed include: (1) What are the neural systems involved in phonological awareness (segmentation, rhyme generation and coding involved in verbal memory) and visual motion processing in normal subjects? (2) Do the neural systems involved in phonological awareness show sensitivity to performance rate, modality of presentation (oral versus visual) or response (covert versus overt)? (3) Is there spatial overlap in the neuronal systems involved in the performance of phonological awareness tasks and visual motion processing? (4) Since performance on these tasks reliably differentiates dyslexics from controls, are the neural systems involved differently activated in dyslexics and controls during the performance of these tasks? |
| fMRI Studies of Sensorimotor Integration in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders |
| Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, GU Medical Center |
| Functional MRI Studies of Remediation in Developmental Dyslexia |
| Center for the Study of Learning, GU Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Guinevere Eden, D.Phil – Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Director, Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown Unievrsity |
| This study includes a series of experiments designed to investigate the behavioral and physiological changes, measured with functional magnetic imaging (fMRI), resulting from formal intervention programs in children (ages 8-11) utilizing phonological awareness training and visual perceptual training (i.e.: the Lindamood-Bell intervention program). The results of these experiments will: (1) provide new information concerning how the neural systems responsible for the visual and phonological processing abnormalities in dyslexia are altered with different therapies, (2) contribute important new information about the neural changes that bring about reading improvement in children with developmental dyslexia, and (3) further the understanding of the mechanisms affected by remediation techniques that cannot be attained through behavioral data alone. |
| Mechanisms of Reading in the Deaf |
| Center for the Study of Learning, GU Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Carol LaSasso, Ph.D – Professor, Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Department and Ph.D Program Director, Gallaudet University; Daniel Koo, Ph.D. – Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University |
| In this project, behavioral and fMRI measures are used to explore the neurobiological basis of phonological processing and reading in deaf and hearing adults. A group of deaf adults who use Cued Speech (a manual communication system that contains the phonological information of English, which should result in better access to the phonological code of language) will be compared to hearing adults. The results of this study could potentially provide information leading to the development of more effective language instruction and intervention programs for both hearing and deaf individuals with reading disabilities. |
| Neural Correlates of Reading Intervention in Adults |
| Center for the Study of Learning, GU Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Lynn Flowers, Ph.D – Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Wake Forest University; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University |
| This project investigates the potential for reading skill acquisition in adults after intervention, even if skills were not acquired during childhood due to the presence of developmental dyslexia. Intensive behavioral intervention using the Lindamood-Bell program for adult dyslexics is being delivered. Behavioral and physiological changes, measured with fMRI, will be investigated to determine the overall response to the intervention. The double deficit and single deficit group responses will also be compared. Results will provide important new information about the neural mechanisms responsible for reading improvement in adults with a history of poor decoding and fluency. |
| Reading and Sensorimotor Fluency in Dyslexia |
| Center for the Study of Learning, GU Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Guinevere Eden, D.Phil – Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Director, Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown Unievrsity |
| In this project, behavioral and fMRI measures are being used to investigate how reading fluency relates to mechanisms involving reading, rapid automatized naming, phonological processing, speeded motor performance, and visual motion processing. We are now exploring the functional neuroanatomy of speeded motor performance and investigating the relationship between motor control abnormalities and reading fluency deficits. Findings may suggest innovative approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of developmental dyslexia. |
Language Studies
| Neural Systems for Chinese Ideograph Reading |
| Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, GU Medical Center |
| Chinese characters represent morphemes whereas letters of phonetic alphabets, such as English, represent phonemes. Some Chinese characters are composed of a single stroke while others are composed of more than 20 strokes. The neural mechanisms of reading in Chinese may be modulated by visual complexity. We are using functional MRI (fMRI) to study neural activity during Chinese character reading with varying degrees of complexity parameterized by the number of strokes. |
Memory Studies
| Donepezil (Aricept) and Functional MRI Responses |
| Memory Disorders Clinic, Department of Neurology, GU Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Paul Aisen, M.D., Department of Neurology Georgetown University Medical Center |
| Donepezil (Aricept) is a medication that has been proven to slow the rate of cognitive decline when used to treat Alzheimers disease. While the benefits of Aricept have been proven, many questions remain. This study will utilize sensitive tools including Functional MRIs to examine Aricept's impact on crucial aspects of memory and regional brain activity. |
Security and Intelligence Studies
| Brain Mechanisms of Decision Making (Deception Detection) |
| Principal Investigator: Sujeeta Bhatt, Ph.D - Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgetown University |
| The primary goal of this project is to identify the neural systems responsible for deception-based decision making by examining BOLD patterns associated with facial recognition and to correlate the results from the fMRI study with pupil dilation and heart rate. |
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