Francesca Filbey, PhD
Dr. Filbey’s studies incorporate interdisciplinary approaches from the fields of cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging, genetics, computational modeling, psychology and psychiatry. Taking advantage of methodological advancements in neuroimaging and analytical techniques, she combines genomic and neuroimaging approaches to determine the mechanisms that underlie reward and motivation in substance using populations. These projects move beyond simple classifications of presence or absence of reward dysfunction by applying “deep phenotyping” and multivariate approaches that consist of continuous variables from cognitive assessments in addition to biological processes. Understanding these mechanisms will: (1) advance our understanding of the dopaminergic mesocorticolimbic pathway, (2) elucidate the multidimensional processes involved in reward-seeking behavior, (3) inform prevention strategies by defining factors that put individuals at risk, and (4) facilitate effective intervention by unraveling neurobiological and cognitive targets of treatment strategies.