Martha J. Farah

faculty photo
Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Department: Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information
Education:
S.B. (Metallurgy and Materials Science, Philosophy)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977.
Ph.D. (Experimental Psychology )
Harvard University, 1983.
Permanent link
 

Description of Research Expertise

KEY WORDS:
Cognitive neuroscience, emotion, development

RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Behavioral assays, functional neuroimaging, and computational modeling.


RESEARCH SUMMARY
My research spans a wide range of topics within the field of human cognitive neuroscience. Much of my work has been on vision and visual cognition, including object and face recognition and mental imagery. In addition, I have a continuing interest in visual word recognition (i.e. reading). My work has also encompassed semantic memory and executive functions.
I am currently pursuing research on the self-regulatory functions of prefrontal cortex in both cognitive and emotional processing. This research includes work with normal subjects who vary in personality traits such as impulsivity, depressed subjects, and children who have experienced severe childhood deprivation and/or prenatal cocaine exposure. My research methods include work with normal and focally-damaged subjects, functional neuroimaging and computational modeling.

Selected Publications

Farah, M. J. : Emerging ethical issues in neuroscience. Nature Neuroscience 5: 1123-29, 2002.

Farah, MJ & Feinberg, TE : Patient-Based Approaches to Cognitive Neuroscience. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000.

Farah, MJ : The Cognitive Neuroscience of Vision. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 2000.

back to top
Last updated: 12/15/2010
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania