Translational Neuroscience Research Group
Lab Director: Laura Noll, Ph.D.
The overarching aim of the Translational Neuroscience Lab at NAU is to engage in scientific inquiry that reduces the prevalence of trauma across the lifespan and, ultimately, elucidate pathways to healing in individuals who have been harmed by adverse experiences. To that end, the lab works at the intersection of translational neuroscience and developmental psychology to develop strength-based support programs for at-risk parents of young children, conduct research that furthers our understanding of trauma and resilience in adults, and develop multi-modal research paradigms and new measurement tools that advance research initiatives in the field of Prevention Science. Current projects include a multi-modal EEG/ERP study of the Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND) video-coaching program for caregivers of young children, pilot work investigating the neurobiological processing of infant cues in pregnant women, and student-led research investigating the relationship between social media utilization and trauma in adults.
Selected Publications
Giuliani, N. R., Beauchamp, K. G., Noll, L. K., & Fisher, P. A. (2019). A preliminary study investigating maternal neurocognitive mechanisms underlying a child-supportive parenting intervention. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13, 16.
Noll, L. K., Giuliani, N., Beauchamp, K. G., & Fisher, P.A. (2018). Behavioral and neural correlates of parenting self-evaluation in mothers of young children. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13(5), 535-545.
Fisher, P. A., Frenkel, T., Noll, L. K., Berry, M., & Yockelson, M. (2016). Promoting healthy child development via a two-generation translational neuroscience framework: The FIND Video Coaching Program. Child Development Perspectives, 10(4), 251-256.
Fisher, P. A., Beauchamp, K. G., Roos, L. E., Noll, L. K., Flannery, J. & Delker, B. C. (2016). The neurobiology of intervention and prevention in early adversity. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 331-57.
Noll, L. K., Clark, C. A., & Skowron, E. A. (2015). Multigenerational links between mothers’ experiences of autonomy in childhood and preschoolers’ respiratory sinus arrhythmia: Variations by maltreatment status. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 1443-1460.
Gómez, J. M., Lewis, J., Noll, L. K., Smidt, A. M., & Birrell, P. J. (2015). Shifting the focus: Nonpathologizing approaches to healing from betrayal trauma through an emphasis on relational care. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 17(2), 165-185.
Delker, B. C., Noll, L. K., Kim, H. K., & Fisher, P. A. (2014). Maternal abuse history and self-regulation difficulties in preadolescence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(12), 2033-2043.
Noll, L. K., Mayes, L. C., & Rutherford, H. J. (2012). Investigating the impact of parental status and individual differences in depression symptoms on early perceptual coding of infant faces: An event-related potential study. Social Neuroscience, 7(5), 525-536.
Lab Information
The Translational Neuroscience Lab at NAU includes doctoral students from the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program, masters’ students from the Department of Psychological Sciences, and undergraduate students at all levels of experience.
Dr. Noll will be accepting incoming graduate students with an interest in Prevention Science for the 2019–2020 academic year.