Dr. Prat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at UW. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, working with Debra Long on investigations of individual differences in representation of discourse in the two hemispheres, and trained subsequently at the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging with Marcel Just, conducting investigations of network-level characterizations of cognitive capacity. Dr. Prat’s research investigates the nature of biological constraints on information processing, with an emphasis on the neural correlates of individual differences in language comprehension abilities. Her current research at the Cognition and Cortical Dynamics Laboratory employs the combination of fMRI, TMS, DTI, and behavioral paradigms to investigate the neural basis of individual differences in language and cognition.
Ph. D. in Cognitive Psychology, University of California, Davis, June 2004
M. A. in Cognitive Psychology, University of California, Davis, September 2001
B. A. in Psychology, University of California, San Diego, June 1997
September 1, 2010 – Present Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
July 2008 – August 31,2010 Special Research Faculty, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
June 2005 - June 2008 Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, Carnegie Mellon University
Editorial Assistant: Psychological Bulletin (2005-2008)
Ad Hoc Reviewer: Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Human Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Neuropsychologia
NIH NRSA Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University, 2005-2007
Human thought is characterized by its flexible, dynamic nature. The Cognition and Cortical Dynamics Laboratory (CCDL) consists of a group of researchers interested in better understanding how the brain changes, or adapts, to deal with the ever present fluctuations in information processing demands. Our research on these issues addresses a set of unifying questions, such as:
What are the biological bases of individual differences in cognitive capabilities? What are the neural mechanisms underpinning cognitive flexibility? The CCDL utilizes multiple methods and approaches including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), biologically constrained computational modeling, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and individual differences research to collect converging evidence about the biological nature of human thought.
