Understanding the neural basis of cognitive functions is a critical step for answering long-standing questions about the brain and the mind, and for addressing conditions that compromise cognitive function. Our cognitive research program focuses on several key functions, including:

  • Perception
  • Attention
  • Short- and long-term memory
  • Decision making
  • Response inhibition
  • Executive control (the ability to focus resources on important stimuli and tasks)

To address these questions, our laboratories rely on an interdisciplinary approach that combines molecular, neuroimaging, physiological, and behavioral methodologies. Our work encompasses both animal models and human studies, including population and clinical research. Recent advances have also focused on cognitive function across the lifetime, such as:

  • The maturation of cognitive function during adolescent development
  • Cognitive dysfunction in aging

Associated Faculty

Dwayne W. Godwin
Research Interests: Epilepsy, Alcohol, Memory, MEG

Paul J. Laurienti
Research Interests: Brain; Nerve Net; Attention; Aging; Auditory Perception

Brian A. McCool
Research Interests: Cell and molecular neurophysiology of alcohol abuse and anxiety-related behaviors

Robert E. Hampson
Research Interests: Mechanisms of brain information processing, models of memory, effects of drugs of abuse on memory, and neural prosthetics

Kimberly Francis Raab-Graham
Research Interests: Local protein synthesis, depression, autism, alcohol use disorder, Alzheimer's disease, ion channels, GABAB receptors, mTORC1, calcium imaging, proteomics

Joost Maier
Research Interests: Flavor perception, multisensory integration, decision making, development of cortical computation. Techniques: behavioral analysis, multi-electrode recordings and optogenetics in freely moving rats.

Terrence R. Stanford
Research Interests: Decision-Making, Sensorimotor Transform, Multisensory Integration, Neural Networks, Vision

Emilio Salinas
Research Interests: Analysis of single-neuron and neural-network dynamics using mathematical methods and computer simulations

Kenneth Tucker Kishida 
Research Interests: Human cognition, decision-making, computational psychiatry, dopamine, serotonin, human neuroimaging, translational neuroscience 

Carol A. Shively
Research Interests: Social stress effects on disease susceptibility including depression, coronary artery atherosclerosis, visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome using nonhuman primate models

Tao Ma
Research Interests: Alzheimer's, Aging

Gretchen Brenes 
Research Interests: Depression, Anxiety Disorders, OCD

Wayne Pratt 
Research Interests: The roles of meso-accumbens neurotransmitter systems in food-directed motivation

Christopher T. Whitlow
Research Interests:  Networks, TBI, Migraine, Alzheimer's

Sean L. Simpson
Research Interests:  Networks, biostatistics, complexity and imaging

Terry Blumenthal
Research Interests: Biological psychology, psychopharmacology

Christian Waugh 
Research Interests: Physiological and neural underpinnings of emotions and adaptation to stress  

Stephen J. Walker 
Research Interests: Gene Expression Regulation; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; RNA; Pelvic Pain, Gene Expression Profiling

Meredith Addicott
Research Interests: Stress, Psychological, Tobacco Use Disorder, Reward, Drugs, Brain Imaging, Addiction Neuroscience

Trey Bateman - https://school.wakehealth.edu/faculty/b/trey-bateman 
Research Interests: Allostatic Load, Lewy Body Dementia, Mild Behavioral Impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, Cognition and Dementia, Modifiable Risk Factors Associated with Dementia

Mark Baxter
Research Interests: Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, Brain Aging, Cognitive Neuroscience, Learning and Memory

Ruth Benca

Drew Kiraly

Christina Meade
Research Interests: Cannabinoids, HIV, Health Disparities, Psychostimulants, Cognitive Function, Clinical Neuroscience

Michelle Mielke - https://school.wakehealth.edu/faculty/m/michelle-marie-mielke

Kiran Solingapuram Sai
Research Interests: Radiopharmaceuticals, Positron-Emission Tomography, Alzheimer's Disease, Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Imaging, Cancer Imaging

Leah Solberg Woods
Research Interests: Genetics of Diabetes and Obesity, Genetics of Mental Health, QTL Mapping, Outbred Rodents