Dara S. Manoach, PhD

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

Why Don't Schizophrenics Learn? Sleep and Memory

FMRI and TMS STudies of Working Memory in Schizophrenia