1 | Neurocognitive aging and plasticity

Imaging and behavioural data generally suggest that the brain is a dynamic organism that works to maintain cognitive resilience throughout adulthood. However, with increasing age, brain structures decrease in volume and white matter density. The brain responds to these changes by engaging in plasticity, but we know little about the ‘best’ types of plasticity, and even less about the specific brain mechanisms that promote this adaptive plasticity. Our research combines learning paradigms, neuropsychological approaches, and neuroimaging to address these questions.

2 | Depression

The holy grail of psychiatry is to identify biomarkers of disease, but individual differences influence disease trajectories and treatment outcomes. Our objective is to shift away from identifying differences between groups, and even from presenting aggregate results across multiple study participants. Instead, our aim is to combine within-subject information across multiple imaging modalities to identify unique biological signatures. This approach aims to accurately predict treatment responsiveness, and customize treatment strategies for individual patients with major depressive disorder.