Biological Affect Modulation (BAM) Lab

Director: Kymberly Young
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Welcome

The Biological Affect Modulation (BAM) lab is devoted to understanding onset and recovery from emotional disorders, such as depression and anxiety, with a specific focus on developing new neuroscience-derived behavioral treatments, including real-time fMRI neurofeedback. Using behavioral, physiological (EEG, galvanic skin response, heart rate, respiration), and functional imaging methods we seek to understand the physiological mechanisms of emotional information and autobiographical memory processing with the ultimate goal of developing techniques that allow individuals to modify these mechanisms directly (via real-time fMRI neurofeedback, for example).

The BAM lab operates through the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh

Group photo



News

Publications

  1. Compere, L., Siegle, G.J., Young, K.D. Importance of test-retest reliability for promoting fMRI based screening and interventions in major depressive disorder. Transl. Psychiatry. 2021:11(1):387
  2. Young, K.D., Prause, N., Lazzaro, S., Siegle, G.J. Low cost MR compatible haptic stimulation with application to fMRI neurofeedback. Brain Sciences. 2020:10(11):790
  3. 27. Renz, FM., Nicholson, AA., Lor, C., Gotzendorfer, SJ., Sladky, R….. Young, K., et al. Predictors of real-time fMRI neurofeedback performance and improvement – A machine learning mega-analysis. NeuroImage. 2021:247:118207
  4. Young, KD., Friedman, E.S., Collier, A., Berman, S.R., Feldmiller, J., Haggerty, A.E., Thase, M.E., Siegle, G.J. Response to SSRI intervention and amygdala activity during self-referential processing in major depressive disorder. NeoroImage: Clinical. 2020:28:102388
  5. Haugg, A., Sladky, R., Skouras, S., McDonald, A., Craddock, C…. Young, K., et al. Can we predict real-time fMRI neurofeedback learning success from pre-training brain activity? Hum Brain Mapp. 2020:41(14):3839-3854.
  6. Ros, T., Enriquez-Geppert, S., Zotev, V., Young, K., Wood, G., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., et al. Consensus on the reporting and experimental design of clinical and cognitive-behavioral neurofeedback studies (CRED-nf checklist). Brain. 2020:143(6):1674-1685.
  7. Bu, J., Young, K.D., Hong, W., Ma, R., Song, H., Wang, Y., Ma, R., Song, H., Want, Y., Zhang, W., Hampson, M., Hendler, T., Zhang, X. Effect of de-activation of activity patterns related to smoking cue reactivity on nicotine addiction. Brain. 2019:142(6):1827-1841.
  8. Young, K., Compère, L. Importance of examining stimulus type in fMRI studies of sex differences in memory recall.Cogn. Neurosci. 2020
  9. Young, K.D., Siegle, G.J., Zotev, V., Phillips, R., Misaki, M., Yuan, H., Drevets, W.C., Bodurka, J. Randomized clinical trial of real-time fMRI amygdala neurofeedback for major depressive disorder: Effects on symptoms and autobiographical memory recall. Am J Psychiatry. 2017: 174(8):748-755. PMID: 28407727
  10. Young, K.D. Misaki, M., Harmer, C.J., Victor, T., Zotev, V., Phillips, R., Siegle, G.J., Drevets, W.C., Bodurka, J. Real-Time fMRI Amygdala Neurofeedback Changes Positive Information Processing in Major Depressive Disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2017: 82(8):578-586. NIHMS 863613
  11. Young, K.D., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Functional Neuroimaging of Sex Differences in Autobiographical Memory Recall in Depression. Psychol Med. 2017: 47(15)2640-2652. PMID: 28446254
  12. Young, K.D., Siegle, G., Misaki, M., Zotev, V., Phillips, R., Drevets, W.C., Bodurka, J. Altered Task-Based and Resting-State Amygdala Functional Connectivity Following Real-Time fMRI Amygdala Neurofeedback Training in Major Depressive Disorder. NeuroImage: Clinical. 2017: 17:691-703. PMID: 29270356
  13. Himmelstein, P., Barb, S., Finlayson, M.A., Young, K.D. Linguistic Analysis of the Autobiographical Memories of Individuals with Major Depressive Disorder. PLOS ONE. 2018: 13(11): e0207814. PMID: 30475918
  14. Sorger, B., Scharnowski, F., Linden, D.E.J., Hampson, M., Young, K.D. Control freaks: Towards optimal selection of control conditions for fMRI neurofeedback studies. NeuroImage. 2019:186:256-265. PMID: 30423429
  15. Young, K., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Differential Neural Correlates of Autobiographical Memory Recall in Bipolar and Unipolar Depression. Bipolar Disord. 2016: 18:571-582. PubMed PMID: 27813234
  16. Young, K., Preskorn, S., Victor, T., Misaki, M., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. The effect of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptor antagonism on autobiographical memory recall and amygdala response to implicit emotional stimuli. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2016: 19(9):1-11. PubMed PMID: 27207909
  17. Young, K.D., Drevets, W.C., Dantzer, R., Teague, K.T., Bodurka, J., Savitz, J.S. Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites are Associated with Hippocampal Activity during Autobiographical Memory Recall in Patients with Depression. Brain Behav Immun. 2016: 56:335-342. PubMed PMID: 27091600
  18. Zotev, V., Yuan, H., Misaki, M., Phillips, R., Young, K.D., Feldner, M.T., Bodurka, J.B. Correlation between amygdala BOLD activity and frontal EEG asymmetry during real-time fMRI neurofeedback training in patients with depression. NeuroImage: Clinical. 2016: 11:224-38. PubMed PMID: 26958462
  19. Young, K., Drevets, W.C., Bodurka, J., Preskorn, S. S. Amygdala activity during autobiographical memory recall as a biomarker for residual symptoms in patients remitted from depression. Psychiatry Res. Neuroimaging. 2016: 248:159-61. PubMed PMID: 26809279
  20. Young, K., Siegle, G., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Amygdala activity during autobiographical memory recall in depressed and vulnerable individuals; Association with symptom severity and autobiographical overgenerality. Am J Psychiatry. 2016;173(1):78-89. PubMed PMID: 26541813.
  21. Young, K., Bellgowan, P.S.F., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Autobiographical Memory Deficits Correlate with Gray Matter Volume in Depressed and High Risk Participants. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2015 Nov;10(11):1588-95. PubMed PMID: 25925269.
  22. Misaki, M., Savitz, J., Zotev, V., Phillips, R., Yuan, H., Young, K., Drevets, W., Bodurka, J. Contrast enhancement by combining T1- and T2- weighted structural brain MR images. Magn Reson Med. 2015;74:1609-1620. PubMed PMID: 25533337.
  23. Young, K., Bellgowan, P.S.F., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Functional neuroimaging correlates of autobiographical memory deficits in subjects at risk for depression. Brain Sci. 2015: 5(2):144-64. PubMed PMID: 25919972.
  24. Yuan, H., Young, K., Phillips, R., Zotev, V., Misaki, M., Bodurka, J. Resting state functional connectivity modulation and sustained changes after real-time fMRI neurofeedback training in depression. Brain Connect. 2014: 4(9):690-701. PubMed PMID: 25329241.
  25. Young, K., Bellgowan, P.S.F., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Neurophysiological correlates of autobiographical memory deficits in currently and formerly depressed subjects. Psychol Med. 2014: 44(14):2951-63. PubMed PMID: 25065602.
  26. Young, K., Zotev, V., Phillips, R., Misaki, M., Yuan, H., Drevets, W.C., Bodurka, J. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback training of amygdala activity in patients with major depressive disorder. PLoS One. 2014: 9(2):e88785. PubMed PMID: 24523939.
  27. Young, K., Bellgowan, P.S.F., Bodurka., J., Drevets, W.C. Functional neuroimaging of sex differences in autobiographical memory recall. Hum Brain Mapp. 2013: 34(12):3320-32. PubMed PMID: 22807028.
  28. Zotev, V., Phillips, R., Young, K., Drevets, W., Bodurka, J. Prefrontal control of the amygdala during real-time fMRI neurofeedback training of emotion regulation. PLoS One. 2013: 8(11):e79184. PubMed PMID: 24223175.
  29. Young, K., Preskorn, S.H. Neuroscience basis of corticosteroid-induced changes in human cognitive and emotional processing: Implications for affective illness. J Psychiart Pract. 2013: 19(4):309-15. PubMed PMID: 23852106.
  30. Young, K., Bellgowan, P.S.F., Bodurka, J., Drevets, W.C. Behavioral and neuropsychological correlates of autobiographical memory deficits in depressed subjects and individuals at high risk for depression. JAMA Psychiatry. 2013: 70(7):698-708. PubMed PMID: 23677007.
  31. Young, K., Erickson, K., Drevets, W.C. Match between cue and memory valence during autobiographical memory recall in depressed subjects versus healthy controls. Psychol Rep. 2012: 111(1):129-48. PubMed PMID: 23045855.
  32. Young, K., Erickson, K., Drevets, W.C. Differential effects of emotionally versus neutrally cued autobiographical memories on performance of a subsequent cognitive task: Effects of task difficulty. Front Psychol. 2012: 8;3:299. PubMed PMID: 23060823.
  33. Young, K., Erickson, K., Nugent, A., Fromm, S., Mallinger, A., Furey, M., Drevets, W.C. Functional anatomy of autobiographical memory recall deficits in depression. Psychol Med. 2012: 42(2):345-58. PubMed PMID: 21798113.
  34. Young, K., Drevets, W.C., Schulkin, J., Erickson, K. Dose-dependent effects of hydrocortisone infusion of autobiographical memory recall. Behav Neurosci. 2011: 125(5):735-41. PubMed PMID: 21942435.
  35. Young, K. Peynircioğlu, Z.F., Hohman, T.J. Revelation effect in metamemory. Psychon Bull Rev. 2009: 16(5):952-56. PubMed PMID: 19815804.

Research



Neurofeedback Training for Depression

We augment Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for depression with real-time fMRI neurofeedback training to upregulate the amygdala hemodynamic response during positive autobiographical memory recall in order to determine whether amygdala neurofeedback can improve outcomes to CBT.



Risk and Resilience To Major Depressive Disorder

In this longitudinal study, we follow individuals at a high risk for developing depression based on family history to determine the neurobiological mechanisms that predict onset of, or resilience to, experiencing depression. We specifically focus on brain activity during the recall of emotional autobiographical memories.

Staff

Dr. Kymberly Young

Director

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Dr Kymberly Young

Dr. Young earned a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and her M.A. and Ph.D in the Behavior, Cognition and Neuroscience program at American University in Washington DC. During her graduate studies, Dr. Young also received the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) post-baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA), allowing her to conduct research in the Section on Neuroimaging in Mood and Anxiety Disorders at the National Institute of Mental Health. After receiving her PhD, she was recruited by the founding director of the newly created Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa OK, Dr. Wayne Drevets, to complete her postdoctoral training. In 2014, Dr. Young was awarded the NIH’s Pathway to Independence K99/R00 award for her ongoing work investigating the therapeutic potential of real-time fMRI amygdala neurofeedback, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award from Brain and Behavior Research Foundation in 2015. In April of 2016 Dr. Young joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as an assistant professor of psychiatry. Dr. Young’s research focuses on understanding the physiological mechanisms of positive emotional information and autobiographical memory processing in healthy individuals and individuals with mood and anxiety disorders through behavioral, physiological, and functional imaging methods. Her focus is on understanding onset and recovery from mental illness and developing new neuroscience-derived neurobehavioral interventions, including real-time fMRI and EEG neurofeedback, which target deficits in the processing of positive stimuli in patients with mood-disorders.


Scott Barb

Research Project Coordinator

Scott Barb

Scott Barb earned both his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master’s in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. Scott has worked in both mental health and addiction clinical settings, as well as in research settings with schizophrenia, autism, and depression populations. Scott is focused on understanding the efficacy of evidence-based treatment on minority groups and enhancing non-pharmaceutical interventions for those populations.


Laurie Compère

Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr Compere

Dr. Compère earned a PhD in Psychology at Paris Sorbonne University in Paris, France and has a title of clinician neuropsychologist in France. Her PhD focused on sex and gender differences in autobiographical memory by attempting to distinguish the biological and social factors underlying the observed differences between men and women in autobiographical memory, behaviorally and using fMRI. She is completing her postdoctoral training under the guidance of Dr. Young since October 2018 in the BAM lab of Pittsburgh University - School of Medicine, PA. Dr. Compère research focuses on investigating the therapeutic potential of real-time fMRI amygdala neurofeedback and individualized treatments in major depressive disorder. Given the differences in men's and women's prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder, her focus is on investigating how biological or social factors can explain those differences in depression prevalence.


Carolyn Webb

Research Associate Sr

Carolyn Webb

Carolyn Webb is a mental health clinician with a passion for helping those with their mental health and reducing the stigma around mental illness. Carolyn has earned both her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and her Masters of Science in Counseling Psychology. She has also obtained accreditation in Psychological First Aid and her experience includes treating both children and adults suffering from complex trauma and grief, depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia. Carolyn is focused on understanding the efficacy of evidence-based treatment on at-risk groups and enhancing non-pharmaceutical interventions for those populations. Outside of work, Carolyn enjoys traveling, baking, true crime podcasts, and spending time with her family and 3 dogs!


Emma Riley

Research Specialist

Emma Riley

Emma graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and a minor in Biological Sciences. During her time at FSU, Emma worked in social psychology research helping investigate the motivations behind prejudice, sexism, and collective action. Currently, she is interested in the neuropsychology and biopsychology of mood disorders. She hopes to incorporate these research interests with her goals of helping the community, especially vulnerable and underserved populations. In her free time, Emma enjoys playing video games and reading.


Emily Leiker

Postdoctoral Scholar

Emily Leiker

Dr. Leiker is a cognitive neuroscientist and postdoc in the BAMlab, where she is training in multimodal neuroimaging and real-time neurofeedback to improve emotion cognition and memory function in depression. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Missouri Department of Psychological Sciences, after completing her undergraduate studies in Neuroscience and Psychology at Drake University. Her research combines brain and behavioral methods to understand how emotional memories are represented in the brain and unfold during recall, with a focus on therapeutic applications for mental health disorders. In addition to research, Dr. Leiker is an avid contributor to efforts promoting inclusion, retention, and advancement of women and other under-represented groups in STEM. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her dog Huxley and her partner Stephen, exploring the beer and food scene, and taking in some nature.

Contact Info

For interest in our studies, please contact Carolyn Webb
webbc3@upmc.edu

Directions

BAM Lab
Suite 420-B
3501 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh PA 15213

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