
Anna Abraham
Professor
Neuroscience
Neurocognition of creativity & imagination – reality/fiction distinction, self/social cognition, mental time travel, semantic cognition, aesthetics
Learn more about this group by contacting Dr. Lisa Renzi-Hammond (lrenzi@uga.edu).
Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system at the systems, organismic, and cognitive levels. Behavioral neuroscience focuses on the neurobiological bases of behavior. Research topics include neurotransmitter systems in discrete neural circuits and how plasticity in these systems mediates complex behavior, motivation, emotion, learning, and memory. Cognitive neuroscience focuses on the neural correlates of higher cognitive functions. This area typically employs neuroimaging techniques to examine neural activity associated with cognitive, perceptual, and emotional processes.
Neurocognition of creativity & imagination – reality/fiction distinction, self/social cognition, mental time travel, semantic cognition, aesthetics
Neural mechanisms of goal-directed movement; Functional neuroimaging; non-invasive brain stimulation; neurorehabilitation
Structural, functional & genetic abnormalities in schizophrenia.
Development and prevention of obesity, gut microbiota, gut-brain signaling, regulation of ingestive behavior
Animal biomechanics related to disease, injury, conditioning, and nutrition; functional outcomes assessment related to therapeutics development
Neural processing of abdominal sensory information. Control of ingestive behavior and autonomic function.
Major research focus areas: Neurotoxicology; Neuroimmunology; Basal ganglia, Neurodevelopmental, and Metabolic disorders.
Biological basis of social behavior and emotion processing in humans.
Behavioral neuropharmacology; neuropeptides and trophic factors; plasticity; stress, depression, and addiction.
Research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, identifying novel druggable targets, discovering prodromal biomarkers and novel reengineered gut microbiome based therapeutics for treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and related dementia.
Research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, identifying novel immunomodulatory drugs, discovering biomarkers for diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases related dementia.
Multiscale and multimodal brain mapping with applications to brain diseases.
Schizophrenia, psychosis, cognitive control, plasticity, saccades, ocular motor system,
exercise, f/MRI, DTI.
My recent laboratory work focuses on aspects of working memory, executive function,
and older adult cognition using structural and functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological tools.
Neuroendocrinology Reproductive Aging, Stress Axis and Metabolic Function,
Neuroendocrine-Immune Interactions, Prenatal Programming and its Neuroendocrine Consequences,
Neuroendocrine Effects of Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Chemicals
Neuroendocrine immune interactions in the context of
Reproduction and Stress; Prenatal Stress and programming
of obesity; Environmental exposures and their impact
on Stress and Reproduction; Biomarker development for
various human diseases.
Central regulation of feeding behavior, diet and cognitive function, the gut microbiome-brain connection, exercise and brain energy metabolism
Youth and Family Resilience: how neurobiological and socioemotional systems adapt to psychosocial stress using multi-level methods (e.g., fMRI, psychophys, observations)
Visual neuroscience; risk for neurodegenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s and related dementias
Hemodynamic and electrocortical measures of emotional scene perception.
The role of stress and neuropeptides in drug seeking behavior using behavioral pharmacology,
neuroanatomy, and molecular neuroscience.
Neurophysiology of the hippocampus, cellular mechanisms of learning and memory, neuropharmacology of drugs of abuse and rodent models of addiction.
Identify behavioral, cognitive, and neural mechanisms for dexterity; learning and control principles for skilled movement; rehabilitation after neuromuscular injuries.
Molecular mechanism of embryo implantation. Endocrine disruptors on puberty and early pregnancy.