Assistant Director, Neuroscience Research
Ekaterina Dobryakova, PhD, is assistant director of Neuroscience Research in the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research and director of the Neuromotivation and Network Integrity Laboratory at Kessler Foundation. Dr. Dobryakova conducts clinical research in populations with cognitive dysfunction caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s Disease.
Dr. Dobryakova is the author of more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and several chapters in the "Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology" and "Cognition and Behavior in Multiple Sclerosis." She is an active member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine's (ACRM) Neurodegenerative Diseases Networking Group and the communications committee for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping.
The fronto-striatal brain network has been shown to play an important role in motivated behavior as well as in fatigue and depression that so many clinical populations experience, including individuals with TBI and MS. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, Dr. Dobryakova investigates the functioning of the fronto-striatal network during motivated behavior and the network’s relationship with fatigue and depression. Her findings indicate that noninvasive, nonpharmacologic interventions may be useful for addressing deficits in learning processes, and in ameliorating the impact of debilitating cognitive fatigue.
View a comprehensive listing of publications for Dr. Dobryakova on Pubmed.
