Research
Neuroimaging of language and developmental disorders
Appointments
- Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
- Associate Professor, Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART)
- Member, Neuroscience IDP
- Brain Research Institute
Biography
My main research interests focus on the neural representation of language and social cognition. Using neuroimaging techniques (functional MRI, and, more recently, structural MRI and event related potentials, ERP), my research seeks to
(1) delineate how brain maturation and the development of language and social cognition co-occur in the typically developing brain,
(2) qualify the patterns of brain dysfunction in developmental disorders such as autism, childhood onset schizophrenia, and dyslexia, and
(3) examine the neural basis of linguistic and communicative functions in the adult brain since studies on adults provide a normative developmental endpoint for our developmental investigations and can also address issues of brain plasticity.
Publications
- Chiem, E, Wagner, L, Hernandez, LM, Green, S, Dapretto, M. Early sleep and sensory over-responsivity relate to insular functional connectivity with sensorimotor cortices and cerebellum in infants at varying likelihood for autism. J Neurodev Disord. 2026;18 (1):. doi: 10.1186/s11689-026-09721-0. PubMed PMID:42972539 PubMed Central PMC13726208.
- Arutiunian, V, Sullivan, CAW, Santhosh, M, Neuhaus, E, Borland, H, Bernier, RA et al.. Excitation/inhibition balance subtypes in autism and their genetic, neural, and clinical profiles. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2026; :. doi: 10.1007/s00702-026-03283-0. PubMed PMID:42730820 .
- Chiem, E, Ganesh, SSA, Dodson, J, Dapretto, M, Hernandez, LM. Effects of Polygenic Liability for Autism on Neonatal Thalamocortical Connectivity and Behavioral Outcomes Across Sex. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2026; :. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2026.09.003. PubMed PMID:42716337 .
- Cakar, ME, Cummings, KK, Bookheimer, SY, Dapretto, M, Green, SA. Atypical Cerebellar Responses are Associated with Altered Neural Habituation during Sensory Stimulation in Autism. Autism Res. 2026;19 (10):e70313. doi: 10.1002/aur.70313. PubMed PMID:42657904 PubMed Central PMC13644733.
- Castro, VM, Gainer, V, Wattanasin, N, Cagan, A, Holzbach, A, Chan, J et al.. Characterization and validation of EHR computable phenotypes for Long COVID using patient-reported symptoms: insights from the nationwide RECOVER program. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2026;33 (9):1759-1769. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocag115. PubMed PMID:42496643 PubMed Central PMC13580738.