Jamie Hanson

Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychology

Research Scientist, Learning Research & Development Center

Lab

http://www.lifelab.pitt.edu

Education and Training

PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Interests

My research focuses on how children and adolescents learn about their environment, how brain circuitry involved with learning may be impacted by early life stress, and how these brain changes may confer risks for negative outcomes. Through the use of structural and functional MRI, my research aims to learn about the impact of stress on neurobiology through a focus on two different forms of behavior. First, I have explored how early life stress may increase risk for disruptive behavioral problems through alterations in the brain. Second, I have focused on how early life stress may convey risk for depression. Through a series of studies, I have found that the risks for different forms of psychopathology associated with early life stress are conveyed by specific alterations in brain circuitry responsible for reward and socio-emotional information processing. This research program includes longitudinal assessments of individuals at multiple levels of analysis, including neurobiology, family functioning, and developmental history.

Recent Publications

Norbom LB, Rokicki J, Eilertsen EM, Wiker T, Hanson JL, Dahl A, Alnæs D, Fernández-Cabello S, Beck D, Agartz I, Andreassen OA, Westlye LT, & Tamnes CK. (2024). Parental education and income are linked to offspring cortical brain structure and psychopathology at 9–11 years. JCPP Advances, e12220.

Palacios-Barrios, E. E., Patel, K., and Hanson, J. L. (2024). Early life interpersonal stress and depression: Social reward processing as a potential mediator. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 129 (2024): 110887.

Kahhale, I., Hanson, J. L, Raine, A. & Byrd, A. L. (2024). Associations Between Subtypes of Empathy and Aggression in High-Risk Adolescents. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment.

Nweze,T., Ezenwa, M., Ajaelu, C., Hanson, J.L., & Okoye, C. (2023) Cognitive variations following exposure to childhood adversity: Evidence from a pre-registered, longitudinal study. eClinicalMedicine.

Bacas, E., Kahhalé, I., Raamana, P. R., Pablo, J. B., Anand, A. S., & Hanson, J. L. (2023). Probing multiple algorithms to calculate brain age: Examining reliability, relations with demographics, and predictive power. Human Brain Mapping.

Jamie Hanson's Google Scholar profile

News and Awards