Investigators

How Does the Brain Create the Mind?

Through the development of modern methods of neuroimaging, we are interested in exploring the relationships between structure and function in the human brain, particularly as related to higher level cognition, such as mental imagery. Our lab is involved in the creation of technologies - including:

    Rapid Methods of MR Imaging

    Fusion of Electrophysiology and fMRI

    Advanced approaches to MR data analysis

    Ultra-Low Field MRI using SQUID detection

Keywords: Anxiety, depression, positive and negative valence systems, RDoC, PTSD, affect labeling, emotional responses.

Keywords: Social neuroscience, social rejection, social connection, social pain, inflammation

Keywords: Adolescent brain development, fMRI, mesolimbic circuitry, cognitive control, affective processing

Keywords: Self-control, cognitive flexibility, impulsivity, addiction, marijuana, nicotine, methamphetamine, prefrontal cortex, dopamine, breathing, mindfulness, parasympathetic nervous system, adolescents

Keywords: Mathematical cognition, analogy, causal reasoning

Keywords: Learning, memory, habit, cognitive control

Keywords: schizophrenia, cognitive neuroscience, connectivity, development

Keywords: Conscious perception, metacognition, visual attention

Keywords: Social neuroscience, social cognition, default mode network, affect labeling

Keywords: Substance abuse, stimulants, smoking, resting state functional connectivity, risky decision-making, inhibitory control, emotion regulation

I study the brain in people with sleep-disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea, linking physical and psychological symptoms to where and how the brain is affected. Currently, I am looking at these influences in males and females separately, and assessing the impact of interventions for sleep apnea and high blood pressure. I study functional, structural, and chemical aspects of the brain.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, cognitive training, exercise, first-episode, psychosis, neuroplasticity, cognition, longevity, memory training, aging, mobile technology, health

Keywords: Disorders of consciousness, coma, vegetative state, language, arithmetic cognition, music cognition, reasoning, (f)MRI

Keywords: Neuromodulation, Parkinson's disease, therapeutic targeting

Keywords: Addiction, alcohol, methamphetamine, medication development, cue-reactivity

Keywords: Episodic memory, working memory, attention, cognitive control, reasoning, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, connectivity, multivariate pattern classification, cognitive aging, psychopathology

Director of the Ingestive behavior and Obesity program at the UCLA Center for Neurobiology of Stress.

Main interest: the role of brain control on satiety/hunger signals and ingestive behavior in health and in obesity. topics for current projects at the Staglin: effect of bariatric surgery on brain activity/structure related to satiety/hunger and ingestive behavior.

Dr. Gary Small’s research focuses on the early detection and prevention of age-related cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and related condition. His group has developed novel brain imaging (MRI, PET) tools that are useful on combination with genetic risk measures and other biomarkers in identifying people at risk for dementia years before symptoms emerge.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, attention, inhibitory processing, emotion, stress