Research Interests My translational research incorporates behavioral, computational, and physiological approaches to investigate why patients with psychiatric disorders are often deficient in their everyday decision-making. I am particularly interested in finding specific cognitive and neural deficits (or “endophenotypes”) in each clinical population so that my research can eventually inform the development of individualized treatment programs. To achieve this goal, I use computational modeling to disentangle specific cognitive deficits; I also use neuroimaging methods to identify the neural underpinnings of each psychopathology. Moreover, my research is aimed at testing theories by using quantitative model comparison methods and sophisticated experimental design. Over the long term, I would like to contribute to building a united model of mood/anxiety and addiction disorders, which are highly comorbid with each other.
Publications Ahn, W.-Y., Rass, O., Fridberg, D. F., Bishara, A. J., Forsyth, J. K., Breier, A., Busemeyer, J. R., Hetrick, W. P., Bolbecker, A. R., & O’Donnell, B. F. (in press) Temporal discounting of rewards in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. [PDF] Ahn, W.-Y., Jessup, R. K., & Busemeyer, J. R. (in press) Building bridges between neuroscience and complex decision making behavior. In: L. Yuejia & Z.-L. Lu (Eds.), Progress in Cognitive Science: From Cellular Mechanisms to Computational Theories. Peking University Press. [Abstract] Ahn, W.-Y., Krawitz, A., Kim, W., Busemeyer, J. R., & Brown, J. W. (2011) A Model-Based fMRI Analysis with Hierarchical Bayesian Parameter Estimation. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, 4(2), 95-110. [PDF] Upton, D. J., Bishara, A. J., Ahn, W.-Y., & Stout, J. C. (in press) Propensity for risk taking and impulsivity in the Iowa Gambling Task. Personality and Individual Differences. [PDF] Fridberg, D. J., Queller, S., Ahn, W.-Y., Kim, W., Bishara, A. J., Busemeyer, J. R., Porrino, L., & Stout, J. C. (2010) Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Risky Decision-Making in Chronic Cannabis Users. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 54, 28-38. [PDF] Colleen, B., Krishnan, G., Vohs, J., Ahn, W.-Y., Hetrick, W. P., Morzorati, S., & O’Donnell, B. F. (2009) Steady State Responses: Electrophysiological Assessment of Sensory Function in Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35(6), 1065-1077. [PDF] Ahn, W.-Y., Busemeyer, J. R., Wagenmakers, E.-J., & Stout, J. C. (2008) Comparison of decision learning models using the generalization criterion method. Cognitive Science, 32(8), 1376-1402. [PDF] Codes [R codes] for hierarchical Bayesian analysis and maximum likelihood estimation of the Prospect Valence Learning (PVL) Model. PDF versions of papers are protected by copyright laws, but provided as a professional courtesy for personal and research use only. Copyright resides with the respective copyright holders, as stated within each paper. |