Cognitive Development & Neuroimaging Laboratory

The Cognitive Development & Neuroimaging Laboratory (CDNL), also known as the Marsh Lab, conducts research projects that focus on understanding the neurodevelopmental trajectories of psychiatric disorders that arise during childhood and adolescence. We use multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the functioning and structure of neural circuits that support the capacity to self-regulate one’s thoughts, actions, and urges since deficits in that capacity characterized many childhood psychiatric disorders. CDNL conducts studies aimed at assessing the neurodevelopment of these circuits in healthy children and identifying circuit-based changes following treatment in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder. We also take a didactic approach to studying child development, acquiring brain-behavioral data from both children and their mothers.