Dara S. Manoach, PhD
Professor of Psychology
Research Roles/Affiliations
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH
Contact Information
Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown Navy Yard,
149 13th St. Room 2618, Charlestown, MA 02129
E-mail: dara.manoach@mgh.harvard.edu
Relevant Links
SCAN Lab
Harvard Catalyst profile
Google Scholar
NIH profile
Research
The Sleep, Cognition and Neuropsychiatry Laboratory (SCAN Lab) studies is using state-of-the-art complementary multimodal neuroimaging techniques including MEG, EEG, and functional MRI as well as intracranial recording studies to investigate the contribution of abnormal sleep to disabling cognitive deficits and symptoms of schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder and pediatric epilepsy. We are guided by the principle that understanding the bases of cognitive deficits – from genes to physiology to circuit dysfunction to diagnosis – will lead to effective prevention and treatment. Our group has identified deficient sleep-dependent memory consolidation among the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, has linked this deficit to specific brain oscillations during sleep, and are developing and evaluating novel mechanistically targeted treatments. The ultimate goal of this research program is to transform the understanding and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, to prevent their onset and to improve outcomes.
Research Interests
Sleep
Spindles
Schizophrenia
Memory
Autism
Hippocampus
Grants
Optimizing sleep spindle measurements as translational assays of memory consolidation
Sleep-dependent memory processing in schizophrenia
Sleep spindles in early course schizophrenia and first-degree relatives
Mentoring and Research on Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia
Spatiotemporal dynamics of contextual processing in schizophrenia
Clinical Trial: Eszopilclone on Sleep and Learning