Alexander J. Shackman, Ph.D.

 

I am interested in how cognitive and emotional processes interact. Studying such interactions is a promising means of answering more general questions about how the prefrontal cortex is functionally organized and how it contributes to adaptive and maladaptive behavior.

My research falls into three more specific lines of work.

One line aims to understand the psychological and neural mechanisms that mediate anxiety's impact on how we think and act. Here, we have examined the effects of experimentally induced anxiety on cognitive tasks thought to rely on prefrontal cortex. We have also sought to better characterize how individual differences in anxious temperament, emotion regulation, and working memory capacity can minimize or intensify threat's impact.

A second line aims to identify the functional significance of aberrant activity in the prefrontal cortex of individuals afflicted with major depression. In particular, we are trying to tease apart the contributions of exaggerated emotional reactivity from deficient emotion regulation.

A third line of work uses transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to directly manipulate prefrontal activity, indexed by simultaneously recorded electrophysiological (EEG) and hemodynamic (fMRI) measures.

Common to each of these areas is a strong interest in quantitative and physiological methodology.

 

CV: Publications and Contact Information    

Collaborators

Teaching | Methods

EEG, ERP and ERSP Methods

Professional Development

Quantitative Methods

Source Localization Methods

Linked Resources

Administrative

TOTAL-RECALL

WISC-CIT

SHKMEM