Hanseul Choi

I am interested in the optimal and dysfunctional organization of the salience network and other related neural networks that contribute to attentional control. My long-term goal as an aspiring researcher is to contribute to diagnosis and treatment of a host of neuropsychiatric disorders that have an element of attentional dysfunction as a root cause of their pathophysiology -depression, PTSD, ADHD, and even OCD. I believe that by better understanding neural connectivity (functional connectivity and effective connectivity from fMRI data) of these networks and linking it to behavioral and clinical outcomes will help advance the field of psychiatry by a great stride. I am also looking for ways to apply neuromodulation technology such as TMS and tDCS to modulate these networks to help improve cognitive performance and emotional control in healthy populations.

My side interests include…
– differential neural mechanisms underlying resting-state and Default Mode Network activity of individuals and their relations to psychological health
– tracking treatment efficacy in terms of network connectivity within the context of music therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease.
– neural mechanisms involved in psychological constructs implicated in intergroup (gender, race, political affiliation) conflicts and relations, such as stereotype, prejudice, and categorical person perception

At the lab, I have been working on an fMRI study trying to distinguish between differential interrogation anxiety type that proceeds after lying vs truth-telling by looking at fMRI data and I am currently helping with a DCM study on effective connectivity of N-back working memory network and its relationship to behavioral measures of executive control.

• • Salience Network
  • Attentional Control
  • Neuromodulation