Crystal Gibson

Curriculum Vitae

Office Address: Department of Psychology

Vanderbilt University

213 Wilson Hall

111 21^st Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37240

Telephone: 615.322.3435

Fax: 615.343.8449

E-mail: crystal.gibson@vanderbilt.edu

Education:

B.A. Psychology (2004). Vanderbilt University. Nashville, TN. High

Honors, Magna Cum Laude.

Research Interests:

I am primarily interested in neuropsychological research of major psychiatric illnesses, especially schizophrenia. More specifically, I am interested in cognitive dysfunction in mental illness (including emotion, working memory, and attention) and how it is investigated with structural and functional imaging tools, including diffusion tensor imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and near infrared optical imaging. Secondary interests include neural plasticity and abnormalities in normal neural development.

Positions held:

Research Assistant 2004-present

Lab of Dr. Sohee Park, Vanderbilt University. Assisted in cognitive neuroscience research with a focus on schizophrenia. Performed extensive literature searches. Prepared proposals for new research projects. Developed new paradigms for various research projects. Conducted clinical interviews assessing positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Conducted neuropsychological assessments using Weschler Abbreviated Scale for Intelligence and fluency measures. Collected data from schizophrenia patients, healthy volunteers, and schizotypes. Utilized diffusion tensor imaging to measure fractional anisotropy of neural structures in schizophrenia patients and healthy volunteers. Evaluated neural activation in prefrontal cortex using near infrared optical tomography in schizophrenia patients, healthy volunteers, and student musicians. Performed statistical analyses of data for publication. Presented data at conferences. Currently preparing manuscripts for publication.

Honors student 2002-2004

Lab of Dr. Sohee Park, Vanderbilt University. Conducted an independent research project addressing how cognitive processes differ in musicians and non-musicians. Also assisted in the data collection and coordinated data analyses for ongoing projects concerning divergent thinking and neuropsychology. Prepared proposals for new research projects. Performed extensive literature searches. Performed statistical analysis of data for publication.

Research Assistant 2001-2004

Lab of Dr. David Greenstein, Vanderbilt University. Aided in cell biology experiments as necessary. Maintained nematode colonies. Made chemical stock solutions. Ordered laboratory supplies. Responsible for organization and upkeep of laboratory.

Current Research Projects:

Evaluating imitation of hand gestures, mouth movements and emotional faces in schizophrenia
Examining verbal working memory in schizophrenia
Investigating the relationship between structural and functional neuroanatomy and the following: imitation in schizophrenia, creative thought processes along the schizophrenia continuum, spatial working memory in schizophrenia
Studying the relationship between psychosis-proneness and early vs late onset of puberty
Investigating creative thinking processes in musicians using near-infrared optical imaging
Examining counterfactual thinking in schizophrenia

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications:

Park, S., Gibson, C., & McMichael, T. (2006). Socioaffective factors modulate working memory in schizophrenia patients. Neuroscience, 139, 373-384.

Tadin, D., Kim, J., Doop, M.L., Gibson, C., Blake, R., Lappin, J.S. & Park, S. (submitted). Weakened center-surround interactions in visual motion processing in schizophrenia.

Conference Abstracts and Posters:

Gibson, C. & Park, S. (2004). Association of schizotypal personality and creativity in musicians. Presented at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting for the Society for Research in Psychopathology in St. Louis, Missouri, October 7-10, 2004.

Folley, B. S., Gibson, C., Anderson, A., Lee, J., & Park, S. (2005). A new look at the neurobiological substrates of creative thinking in the schizophrenia spectrum: Near infrared imaging of the prefrontal cortex and diffusion tensor imaging of white matter coherence and integrity. Accepted to be presented at the 10th International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Savannah, Georgia, April 2-6.

Gibson, C., Folley, B.S., & Park, S. (2005). Functional neuroanatomy of creative thinking process in musicians in relation to schizotypal personality: A Near Infrared Optical Tomography (NIROT) study. Accepted to be presented at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Savannah, Georgia, April 2-6.

Park, S., Gibson, C., Folley, B. S., Lee, J., & Anderson, A. (2005). Making faces: A behavioral and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study of imitation and “mirror neuron” mechanism in schizophrenia. Accepted to be presented at the 10th International Congress on Schizophrenia Research in Savannah, Georgia, April 2-6.

Gibson, C., Popof, P., Folley, B.S., Gore, J., & Park, S. (2005). A near-infrared spectroscopy study of creativity and schizotypy. Presented at the Eighth Annual Meeting of the World Congress of Biological Psychiatry in Vienna, Austria, June 28-July 3.

Doop, M.L., Park, S. Zald, D., Li, R. Riccardi, P., Ansari, M.S., Dawant, B., Anderson, S., Gibson, C., Woodward, N., Schmidt, D., Baldwin, R. & Kessler, R. (2006). D-Amphetamine induced attenuation of attentional inhibition: Implications for schizophrenia. Presented at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Florence, Italy, June 11-15.

Essex, B., Gibson, C. & Park, S. (2006). Neural correlates of counterfactual thinking: A near infrared optical imaging study. Presented at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Florence, Italy, June 11-15.

Gibson, C., Lee, J. & Park, S. (2006). Neuroanatomy of verbal working memory in schizophrenia: A near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study. To be presented at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Florence, Italy, June 11-15.

Kim, J., Gibson, C., Anderson, A. & Park, S. (2006). An event-related fMRI study of verbal working memory in schizophrenia and healthy control subjects. Presented at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Florence, Italy, June 11-15.

Yang, E., Doop, M.L., Park, S., Li, R., Zald, D., Riccardi, P., Ansari, M.S., Dawant, B., Gibson, C., Anderson, S., Woodward, N., Schmidt, D., Baldwin, R. & Kessler, R.M. (2006). Dopamine modulation of attentional shift and inhibition: a PET study. Presented at the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Florence, Italy, June 11-15.