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. Salience Network Connectivity Relates to Sleep and Sensory Over-Responsivity in Infants at High and Low Likelihood for Autism. medRxiv. 2026; :. doi: 10.64898/2026.01.13.26344039. PubMed PMID:41646728 PubMed Central PMC12870681.
- Arutiunian, V, Santhosh, M, Neuhaus, E, Borland, H, Bernier, RA, Bookheimer, SY et al.. Altered aperiodic EEG spectral power during speech perception task is associated with verbal communication in youths with Autism Spectrum Disorder. bioRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.64898/2025.12.29.696902. PubMed PMID:41509301 PubMed Central PMC12776406.
- Rhee, KE, Thaweethai, T, Pant, DB, Stein, CR, Salisbury, AL, Kinser, PA et al.. Social Determinants of Health and Pediatric Long COVID in the US. JAMA Pediatr. 2026; :. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.5485. PubMed PMID:41490011 PubMed Central PMC12771387.
- Chiem, E, Ganesh, SSA, Dodson, J, Dapretto, M, Hernandez, L. Effects of polygenic liability for autism on neonatal thalamocortical connectivity and behavioral outcomes across sex. medRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.64898/2025.12.23.25342934. PubMed PMID:41480036 PubMed Central PMC12755296.
- M Shama, D, Su, M, Beeler-Duden, S, Bernier, RA, Bookheimer, SY, Dapretto, M et al.. Harnessing Trial-to-Trial Variability of EEG Spectral Characteristics to Understand Autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2025; :. doi: 10.1007/s10803-025-07125-y. PubMed PMID:41273602 .