My past research has used brain imaging techniques to study normal adult processing and changes in processing throughout development in normal populations using fMRI (Just, Carpenter, Maguire, et al., 2001) and ERPs (Fonaryova-Key, Dove, & Maguire, 2001; Molfese, Fonaryova-Key, Maguire, et al, 2005). My recent interests in neuroimaging include: continuing research in language development, studying neurological differences in processing between normal and disordered populations and combining different neuroimaging techniques (behavioral, fMRI and ERP).
Children who suffer from ADHD are more likely to drop out of school and be incarcerated as well as generally having lower grades yet the alternative of medicating children for years on end is rarely appealing to parents. The Center for Advanced ADHD Research, Treatment and Education (CAARTE) which is a collaboration between my lab and others at the Center for BrainHealth, the Shelton School, and UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry is working on problems facing children with this disorder.
The overall goal of CAARTE is to become one of the nation’s leading programs to create and use controlled research designs and state of the art therapeutic interventions, specialized testing procedures and training, state of the art brain imaging equipment and facilities to find solutions for the critical issues confronting children who suffer from ADHD. In particular, we are investigating the effects of various non-medical interventions for children ADHD and their families as well as looking at the long-term neurological effects of medication on the developing brain.
Using ERPs, fMRI and behavioral measures our group is studying differences in neurological process of both inhibition and selective learning (the ability to attend to important information and ignore unimportant information) between children who have ADHD and age-matched controls. Changes in these processes due to non-medical interventions are of primary interest with the additional goal of understanding the disorder at various ages from preschool through adolescence.
As a related project I am currently collaborating on research investigating veterans with Gulf War Syndrome in collaboration with researchers at UT Southwestern. My main focus in this project is understanding differences in the neurological pathways related to the disorder, specifically looking at memory deficits and problems. This work brings together specialists in various forms of cutting-edge neuroimaging technologies and clinical researchers towards a common goal of understanding and treating Gulf War Syndrome.