“Iowa City is a great little town with lots of character. It is the perfect place to be a graduate student!”
Memory, communication and social interaction
Concomitant impairments in memory and social functioning are the hallmarks of numerous neurological (e.g., traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease) and psychiatric (e.g., schizophrenia, depression) diseases. Not only are deficits in memory and social functioning common in such individuals and diseases, they are considered among the most handicapping of cognitive impairments. The research in my lab is designed to integrate the study of memory, communication, and social interaction so as to better understand the interactions and interdependencies of these domains in human behavior.
Specifically, our research is aimed at: 1) investigations of the interdependent relationship between memory and language and the contribution of declarative memory to social functioning; 2) characterization of preserved and impaired memory, communicative, and social abilities following acquired brain damage; and 3) development and validation of effective intervention approaches for individuals with disorders of memory and social functioning. Our work seeks to inform theoretical and neurobiological frameworks of memory and social functioning and to translate scientific knowledge into clinical application, helping to improve the lives of individuals with impairments in memory and social functioning.
“Iowa City is a great little town with lots of character. It is the perfect place to be a graduate student!”