Call Lab
Research Interests
Our research addresses a fundamental challenge in ASD: how to map complex behavioral constructs, such as social communication deficits, onto mechanistic processes in the brain. We primarily target low-level (and particularly non-social) cognitive processes, such as working memory and auditory processing, that may not be specific to the ASD diagnosis, but that can be linked to genetic, neurophysiological or neuroanatomical domains, and that impact socio-communicative behavior. The aim is to better understand the pathology of ASD by linking research at the molecular level (genetics), at the neurofunctional level (brain imaging), and at the behavioral level (symptomatology): We aim to connect complex behaviors to underlying genetic mechanisms. Click on the “projects” link for more detail on current research projects.
Land acknowledgement
We acknowledge that this is the territory of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Nipmuc, and Lenape Peoples, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations. We thank them for their strength and resilience in protecting this land, and aspire to uphold our responsibilities according to their example.
Lab News
- Check out our new lab publication: Verbal mediation of theory of mind in ASDEigsti, I. M., & Irvine, C. (in press). Verbal mediation of theory of mind in verbal adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Language Acquisition.Posted on January 12, 2021
- Congrats to Hannah Thomas!Congrats to our graduate student Hannah Thomas on her new publication! 🎊 Thomas, H. R., Rooney, T., Cohen, M., Bishop, S. L., Lord, C., & Kim, S. H. (2020). Spontaneous Expressive Language Profiles in a Clinically Ascertained Sample of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Research.Posted on October 23, 2020
- New lab publication: Jaffe-Dax, S., & Eigsti, I. M. (in press). Perceptual inference is impaired in individuals with ASD and intact in individuals who have lost the autism diagnosis. Nature Scientific Reports.Abstract. Beyond the symptoms which characterize their diagnoses, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show enhanced performance in simple perceptual discrimination tasks. Often attributed to superior sensory sensitivities, enhanced performance may also reflect a weaker bias towards previously perceived stimuli. This study probes perceptual inference in a group of individuals who have lost the autism […]Posted on October 1, 2020
- Congrats to Melina West!Congrats to Melina West on winning a travel award to attend INSAR (International Society for Autism Research) in Seattle, WA in May! 🎉Posted on February 25, 2020
- ALTOS in the news!Click here to read more about some of our project’s goals! https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/intelligence-behavior-shape-adulthood-for-people-with-autism/Posted on February 14, 2020
- Lovely article on deinstitutionalization by former student Greg Vecehttps://www.medpagetoday.com/psychiatry/generalpsychiatry/84796?xid=fb_o&trw=no&fbclid=IwAR08twz-ot6afEqadUvLS7w6TbvfO4CBmauGYxUGOI_rs9aJ29y9ihSnGCcPosted on February 13, 2020
- Congrats to Aditi SirsikarShe was awarded a CHARGE grant and an IBACS award for her project on depression screeners in ASD. Congratulations, Aditi!!Posted on November 14, 2019
- Aditi Sirsikar gives Holster Scholar presentationUndergraduate Research Assistant, Aditi Sirsikar, gave a presentation on her independent research project on September 23, 2019 as part of the Holster Scholars Program. Way to go, Aditi!!Posted on September 26, 2019
- STAAR classroom featured in UConn TodaySTAAR: The Unique Class in the Basement of UConn’s Sprague HallPosted on April 29, 2019
- Congrats to Jason Crutcher on his new NSF fellowship!Jason Crutcher will be funded through a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) on The Science of Learning and the Art of Communication (SLAC). Congratulations, Jason! We cannot wait to see what you do!Posted on January 29, 2019