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Rita Goldstein, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Funding through National Institute on Drug Abuse, US Department of Energy,
and National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
Figure 1. This pyramid depicts our
Neuropsychoimaging method of study. The complementary interrelationships
between the various approaches to study the behaving human brain
are emphasized by the bi-directional arrow. |
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We study brain function at the level of human behavior, cognition, and
emotion. Special emphasis is given to drug addiction (crack/cocaine, methamphetamine,
and alcohol), psychopathology (depression) and other problem behaviors
(aggression).
Research is pursued in a multidisciplinary/translational manner (as depicted
in Figure 1): we use neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and event-related
potential (ERP) recordings, to derive measures of brain function (blood
oxygen level dependent activation, glucose metabolism, receptor availability,
and electrical conductivity). We then embed these results within a behavioral
context using neuropsychological assessment techniques. Behavioral observations,
psychological questionnaires, psychiatric interviews, and behavioral measures
of cognitive functioning are essential to our understanding of the neuropsychobiology
of drug addiction and other problem behaviors.
Our Neuropsychoimaging laboratory would provide an ideal placement for
an undergraduate who has a background in psychology, neuroscience, physics,
or computer sciences. Students are encouraged to engage in an existing
study as well as formulate and design their own experiments. Current questions
that we are investigating include:
- Does salience of reward (e.g., money) change for drug addicted individuals?
What are the underlying neurobiological substrates of such a change?
- How does salience of drug cues affect attentional processes and inhibitory
control in drug addiction?
- What are the neuropsychological correlates of drug addiction? Similarly
to specific cognitive syndromes in other pathologies (e.g., Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer’s), can we identify a profile of cognitive dysfunction
unique to drug addiction?
- Can we use our Neuropsychoimaging method to predict relapse in drug
addiction?
- How do drugs of abuse facilitate aggression? What are the common
neurobehavioral correlates between aggression and drug addiction?
Contact Information
email:
url: http://www.bnl.gov/medical/personel/goldstein
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