Kishida Lab

Research

<-- link to Kenneth T. Kishida's faculty page

Explicit projects statement

My lab uses direct intracranial recordings of neuromodulators (e.g., dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine), with sub-second temporal resolution, during awake conscious behavior to investigate how these key neurotransmitters affect choice behavior and subjective reports of phenomenal experience in humans. These investigations are guided by computational models, which involve both theoretical models of choice behavior and hypotheses about how specific signals may drive subjective phenomenal experience in humans. We also employ high-dimensional data science methods to characterize patterns and relationships in our data which are derived from multiple levels of investigation of human participants including: intracranial sub-second neurochemical fluctuations, non-invasive BOLD imaging (fMRI) data, dynamic behavioral tasks, and clinical characterizations (including present clinical profile and patient history). We are not clinical scientists, rather basic neuroscientists who study humans in clinical spaces where the full spectrum of human phenomenal experience and willful choice are enriched, but to date under-studied and uncharacterized. We hypothesize the existence of ‘computational phenotypes’, which we hypothesize will quantitatively characterize dynamic processes supported by neurobiological systems, which resulted from biological natural selection on evolutionary timescales, but ought to have a determinable underlying genetic and neural architecture.

Vision

Research vision /mission statement

Background: Philosophers have long contemplated the origins of their own first-person phenomenal experience and the origins of what feels like freely willed behavior. Neuroscientists have made tremendous progress explaining the neurobiological mechanisms linking sensory stimulation, cognitive processes, and behavior – to the point where some philosophers (and scientists) believe that the phenomenal experiences of being and choosing are ‘simply’ illusions. Nonetheless, phenomenal experience and choice (illusory or real) are fundamental phenomena – experiences that people that describe having – whose neurobiological mechanisms remain to be explained.

The significance of understanding the neurobiological mechanisms that give rise to phenomenal experience and what feels like freely willed behavior cannot be understated. Every aspect of being human is influenced by these two phenomena. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the medical context – particularly in psychiatric, neurologic, and neurosurgical medicine where disorders of phenomenal experience and loss of control are at the core of psychiatric and neurologic health conditions. Further, phenomenal experience and choice influence every aspect of being an individual human as well as how our families, communities, and societies interact and organize.

Disorders and trauma involving the human brain are a big deal! The U.S. government and U.S. healthcare industry funds trillions of dollars in research trying to develop treatments for a wide range of problems involving the human brain. Most of these funds go towards clinical trials and basic research aimed at testing potential interventions or understanding ‘what has gone wrong’ in brain disorder ‘X’. Lost in this race to develop the next cure or treatment is a focused effort to investigate and understand the basic mechanisms of human brain function, particularly those mechanisms supporting human phenomenal experience and processes that give rise to what (at least) feels like freely willed behavior.

Overarching hypothesis: My research program is founded on the overarching hypothesis that conscious phenomenal experience and willful choice behavior are evolutionarily derived products of natural selection that resulted in the full spectrum of human (phenomenal) experiences and (willful) behavior existing today. A corollary hypothesis is that phenomenal experience and willful choice must generate biological signals that have increased the genetic fitness of organisms that carried the biological substrates that supported them. If biological systems can generate and detect these signals and natural selection can act on them, then scientists should be able to as well. This means that we should be able to measure and characterize phenotypes and associated neural and genetic architectures that support phenomenal experience and willful choice in humans, as well as possible variants or components of these systems in non-human model organisms.

Training and Mentoring Approach:

I take a highly individualized approach to mentorship. I seek out diversity (racial, ethnic, cultural, and academic expertise/training) in my mentees. My approach is informed by my own experiences, which represents a non-traditional academic path from “at risk youth” to tenured associate professor at a major medical research institution. I identify as mixed-race, am a first-generation college student, and was raised by a single parent in in a very diverse community. I have witnessed friends and classmates enter the juvenile legal system in middle school and high school. I have experienced what is it like to struggle to find one’s way through academics without mentorship (nearly impossible, but for some luck) and the tremendous acceleration that is possible when one is fortunate enough to come across a caring and effective mentor. I continue to further develop my mentorship approach through coursework and workshops aimed at developing best practices in mentorship methods. Additionally, I seek direct feedback from my mentees and use this information to grow and adapt to my mentees needs.

At each major transition in my research and scientific training (undergraduate to graduate to postdoctoral to faculty) I changed my methodological focus. While I was always focused on a particular scientific question, I changed research methodology in order to pursue the level of investigation I believed would be most fruitful. I started with an interest in genetics and philosophy (of mind), transitioned to molecular and behavioral neurobiology (in rodents), and then again transitioned to computational neuroscience and human cognition.

Now, I use my highly collaborative and internationally recognized research program to promote my mentees and create professional networks for them to grow within and thrive scientifically and professionally.

At every stage, I have been challenged with learning very different ways of thinking and attacking problems (e.g., scientific, and personal/professional). This has given me a unique breadth of expertise that allows me to engage with mentees from many backgrounds and levels of expertise and meet them with an individualized mentorship approach. I also recognize that a mentee’s goals may change over time and so I regularly meet with mentees and adapt our mentorship/mentee-ship goals to ensure that we are maximizing our time together and preparing the mentee for the next stages of their career. I work side-by-side with my mentees (weekly meetings) to work through problems and challenges and try to create a space where we are learning together.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Activities:

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are important to me. I have made efforts to support DEI throughout my career and at many levels including efforts within my own lab, and at departmental and institutional levels.

Within my own lab, I support diversity, equity, and inclusion by recruiting and hiring traditionally underrepresented individuals to my team. I support this through actively seeking out and recruiting underrepresented candidates through inclusive interviewing and recruitment methods and a mentorship approach that is individualized to each candidate and mentee.

I have served as my department’s Inclusion committee chair for over 2 years. In this role, I served on the “Culture” working group, one of six working groups with an overarching institutional “Racial Equity Task Force”. The Racial Equity Task Force was charged by the CEO and Dean with assessing the state of DEI efforts and failures at the institutional level (within Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest School of Medicine) and create an institution strategy for tangible and sustainable steps for racial equity.

I am a co-founder of the Asian American Pacific Islander Affinity Group at Wake Forest School of Medicine, which has recently merged with the Asian Heritage & Allies System Resource Group within the larger Atrium Health Network. The primary objectives of this group are to promote networking, education, and mentorship for the AHWFB community and supporters of DEI with a particular focus on Asian heritage in all its diversity.

I have served as an invited panelist on a townhall-style discussion and dialogue on the topic of “Anti-Asian Violence and Bias” that was held in the aftermath of the Atlanta shootings and anti-Asian violence that was amplified during the peak of the pandemic.

I have also participated in institutional “Courageous Conversations”, a series of institution-wide virtual discussions on a wide range of topics dealing with race, identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

I have been invited and continue to participate as a mentor and discussion leader on “Inclusive Leadership”. This 2-hour discussion in one session in a series that provides participants with DEI training and a certificate that is recognized by our institution.

Lab Members / Alumni


Principal Investigator
	Kenneth T. Kishida: Associate Professor » Kenneth T. Kishida is an Associate Professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine with appointments in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, the Department of Neurosurgery, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research grapples with the questions of how the human brain gives rise to conscious subjective experiences and how those processes guide human behavior and decision-making.

Lab Technicians
	Angela Jiang: Research Lab Technician » I’ve been a research lab technician in Dr. Kishida’s lab since 2018. I help with collecting behavior, neuroimaging, and voltammetry data. I also program tasks that are used in studies and keep the lab stocked with supplies.
	Mora Alabi: Research Lab Technician » I am a research lab technician interested in neuroeconomic modeling of human decision making, addiction and belief updating.
	Zackary A. Whitt: Research Lab Technician » Bio coming soon...

Undergraduate Students
	Hannah S. Yoder: Undergraduate Student » Since joining the lab, I have enjoyed learning how these complex processes can be studied using computational methods and their potential clinical applications. I am excited to continue conducting data analysis as I study how reward prediction errors influence adaptive learning and decision-making, and I hope to build upon my computational studies using neuroimaging.

Graduate Students
	Arian Kolahi Sohrabi: M.D./Ph.D Student » Bio coming soon...
	Ashley R. Shipp: Ph.D Student » I am a neuroscience PhD student... working on cool neuroscience stuff... and also building this website! :)
	Bashirul I. Sheikh: Ph.D. Student » I am a first-year Neuroscience PhD student currently rotating with the lab. I am interested in computational models of learning, affect, and decision-making, and studying what goes awry in various clinical presentations.
	Benjamin J. Maas: Ph.D. Student » I am a doctoral biomedical engineering student in the lab with a heavy background in neuroimaging. I'm interested in exploiting computational neuroscience to understand psychiatric disease pathology in the hopes of creating precision medicine for mental health illnesses. Currently, I am researching the neural mechanisms underlying the subjective components of the human experience, specifically affect.
	Emily K. Dimarco: Ph.D. Student » My name is Emily, and I initially joined Wake’s Biomedical Sciences Master’s program before switching over to the Neuroscience program and receiving my Master’s degree. I wrote my Master’s thesis on Millisecond Time Perception in Parkinson’s Disease Patients, and I am interested in better understanding the role that dopamine plays in the cognitive processes associated with the disorder. I am currently pursuing my PhD, with a future interest in attending medical school to continue to study and learn how to treat brain-related illnesses. In my free time, you’ll often find me listening to music or running over at Salem Lake.
	Jonathan D. Trattner: Ph.D. Student » My primary research interests involve human decision-making, specifically neuroeconomics — the synthesis of neuroscience and behavioral economics. I’m also a huge fan of R programming and work on tools for data visualization and statistical modeling.
	Ross Fontana: Ph.D. Student » My interests are in neurochemical measurement techniques and devices. I am working on novel voltammetry technology to improve in vivo neurochemical monitoring for various neurological conditions.
	Rachel E. Jones: Ph.D. Student » I am interested in understanding psychiatric conditions through objective neural measures. My dissertation work utilizes model-based fMRI and reinforcement learning theory to determine how patients with treatment-resistant depression differ in positive and negative valence system-mapped choice behavior, brain activity, and associated subjective feelings. I then determine how electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) changes these model-defined parameters to effectively alleviate depressive symptoms. I hope to eventually predict patient profiles that respond well to ECT.

Postdoctoral Researchers
	Christina K. Johnson: Ph.D. » I am a postdoctoral research fellow, fortunate enough to finish my PhD and join the Kishida Lab just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout undergraduate (ASU) and graduate (UMMSoM) school, I was active in hands-on research, ranging from physics and optics to medicine and neurophysiology.

Alumni
	Brittany N. Liebenow: Ph.D. » My research interests join basic neuroscience and its translation to clinical inquiry in neurosurgery and psychiatry. I focus on the novel human voltammetry method of sub-second neurotransmitter measurements, specifically dopamine, during Deep Brain Stimulation electrode implantation neurosurgery.
	Joseph Humphries: M.D. Student » I am interested in the pursuit of the understanding and description of nature which I believe will offer new ways to solve old problems. I see the continued development of conceptual and computational tools in neuroscience as a key development in this process which will one day lead to improvements in the psychological dimension of health care and an improved understanding of ourselves.
	Kasey P. Spry: Ph.D. Student » My name is Kasey and I came to Wake Forest to pursue my interests in neuroscience and neuropsychiatric disorders in the Master’s Neuroscience program. I utilize fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV), working to better measurements and separation of measurements. This work serves to better clinical studies utilizing FSCV.
	L. Paul Sands III: Ph.D. » Hello, my dissertation research pairs computational modeling of affective human decision-making with within-subject, multi-modal functional human neuroimaging (fMRI and MEG) to study the real-time neurophysiological interactions underlying human choice behavior and subjective feelings. This work leverages fMRI’s high spatial resolution and a model-based analytical design to identify target brain regions for MEG beamforming of event-related neurophysiological activity with millisecond resolution.
	Michael K. Howze: Research Lab Technician » I am a graduate student in Wake’s bioethics program and a research lab tech for the Kishida Lab. I am interested in investigating how social inequities affect brain health and function. Notably, in June 2023, I will matriculate into the anesthesiologist assistant program at VCOM/Bluefield University.

	Michelle Marie Williams: Neurosurgery Resident » My interests are primarily neuro-oncological surgery and deep brain stimulation. I am particularly interested in future applications of deep brain stimulation for illnesses that have been traditionally considered psychiatric, such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Publications

Google Scholar Link

Intracranial subsecond dopamine measurements during a “sure bet or gamble” decision-making task in patients with alcohol use disorder suggest diminished dopaminergic signals about relief [PDF]

Brittany Liebenow, Angela Jiang, Emily DiMarco, Thomas Wilson, Mustafa S. Siddiqui, Ihtsham ul Haq, Adrian W. Laxton, Stephen B. Tatter, and Kenneth T. Kishida

Neurosurgical Focus 54 (2), E3

Time perception reflects individual differences in motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease [PDF]

Emily DiMarco, Renata Sadibolova, Angela Jiang, Brittany Nicole Liebenow, Rachel E Jones, Ihtsham ul Haq, Mustafa S Siddiqui, Devin B Terhune, Kenneth T Kishida

bioRxiv, 2023.03. 02.530411

Sub-second fluctuations in extracellular dopamine encode reward and punishment prediction errors in humans [PDF]

Paul Sands III, Angela Jiang, Brittany Liebenow, Emily DiMarco, Adrian Laxton, Stephen Tatter, Read Montague, Kenneth Kishida

bioRxiv, 2023.02. 24.529709

Multi-Task Learning for Sparsity Pattern Heterogeneity: A Discrete Optimization Approach [PDF]

G Loewinger, K Behdin, KT Kishida, G Parmigiani, R Mazumder

arXiv preprint arXiv:2212.08697, 2022

Hierarchical resampling for bagging in multistudy prediction with applications to human neurochemical sensing

G Loewinger, P Patil, KT Kishida, G Parmigiani

The annals of applied statistics 16 (4), 2145-2165, 2022

Computational reinforcement learning, reward (and punishment), and dopamine in psychiatric disorders [PDF]

Brittany Liebenow, Rachel Jones, Emily DiMarco, Jonathan D Trattner, Joseph Humphries, L Paul Sands, Kasey P Spry, Christina K Johnson, Evelyn B Farkas, Angela Jiang, Kenneth T Kishida

Frontiers in Psychiatry 13, 2333, 2022

Intracranial approach for sub-second monitoring of neurotransmitters during DBS electrode implantation does not increase infection rate [PDF]

Brittany Liebenow, Michelle Williams, Thomas Wilson, Ihtsham ul Haq, Mustafa S Siddiqui, Adrian W Laxton, Stephen B Tatter, Kenneth T Kishida

PloS one 17 (8), e0271348, 2022

Subjective Feelings associated with Expectations and Rewards during Risky Decision-making in Impulse Control Disorder [PDF]

Brittany Liebenow, Angela Jiang, Emily DiMarco, Lester Sands, Mary Moya-Mendez, Adrian Laxton, Mustafa Siddiqui, Ihtsham Haq, Kenneth Kishida

2022

Glycemic variability disrupts sleep through KATP channel activity

C Carroll, M Stanley, R Irmen, A Mitra, J Snipes, M Raichle, D Holtzman, R Gould, K Kishida, S Macauley

JOURNAL OF CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW AND METABOLISM 42 (1_ SUPPL), 99-100, 2022

P272. Diminished â€˜Punishment Learningâ€™in Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression [PDF]

Rachel Jones, L Paul Sands, Jonathan D Trattner, Angela Jiang, Heather E Douglas, Predrag V Gligorovic, Kenneth Kishida

Biological Psychiatry 91 (9), S197-S198, 2022

P278. Comorbid Depression and Impulse Control Disorder are Associated With Time Perception Deficits in Parkinsonâ€™s Disease Patients [PDF]

Emily DiMarco, Renata Sadibolova, Rachel Jones, Angela Jiang, Brittany Liebenow, Ihtsham Haq, Mustafa Siddiqui, Devin Terhune, Kenneth Kishida

Biological Psychiatry 91 (9), S200, 2022

Acute hyper-and hypoglycemia uncouples the metabolic cooperation between glucose and lactate to disrupt sleep [PDF]

Caitlin M Carroll, Molly Stanley, Ryan V Raut, Nicholas J Constantino, Riley E Irmen, Anish Mitra, J Andy Snipes, Marcus E Raichle, David M Holtzman, Robert W Gould, Kenneth T Kishida, Shannon L Macauley

bioRxiv, 2022

A Dynamic Affective Core to Bind the Contents, Context, and Value of Conscious Experience [PDF for academic use only!]

Affect Dynamics, 293-328, 2021

Sub-second dopamine and serotonin signaling in human striatum during perceptual decision-making [PDF]

Dan Bang, Kenneth T Kishida, Terry Lohrenz, Jason P White, Adrian W Laxton, Stephen B Tatter, Stephen M Fleming, P Read Montague

Neuron 108 (5), 999-1010. e6, 2020

Role of University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) in diagnosis of Parkinsonian syndromes in a real world setting (1921)

N Pulley, B Liebenow, K Kishida, M Siddiqui

Neurology 94 (15 Supplement), 2020

Diminished single-stimulus response in vmPFC to favorite people in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder [PDF]

Kenneth T Kishida, Josepheen De Asis-Cruz, Diane Treadwell-Deering, Brittany Liebenow, Michael S Beauchamp, P Read Montague

Biological psychology 145, 174-184, 2019

COVARIATE-PROFILE SIMILARITY WEIGHTING AND BAGGING STUDIES WITH THE STUDY STRAP: MULTI-STUDY LEARNING FOR HUMAN NEUROCHEMICAL SENSING [PDF]

G Loewinger, P Patil, K Kishida

2019

Random burst sensing of neurotransmitters [PDF]

PR Montague, T Lohrenz, J White, RJ Moran, KT Kishida

bioRxiv, 607077, 2019

The protective action encoding of serotonin transients in the human brain [PDF]

Rosalyn J Moran, Kenneth T Kishida, Terry Lohrenz, Ignacio Saez, Adrian W Laxton, Mark R Witcher, Stephen B Tatter, Thomas L Ellis, Paul EM Phillips, Peter Dayan, P Read Montague

Neuropsychopharmacology 43 (6), 1425-1435, 2018

Computational underpinnings of neuromodulation in humans [PDF]

PR Montague, KT Kishida

Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology 83, 71-82, 2018

BOLD and its connection to dopamine release in human striatum: a cross-cohort comparison [PDF]

T Lohrenz, KT Kishida, PR Montague

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 371 â€¦, 2016

An efficiency framework for valence processing systems inspired by soft cross-wiring [PDF]

PR Montague, KT Kishida, RJ Moran, TM Lohrenz

Current opinion in behavioral sciences 11, 121-129, 2016

Subsecond dopamine fluctuations in human striatum encode superposed error signals about actual and counterfactual reward [PDF]

Kenneth T Kishida, Ignacio Saez, Terry Lohrenz, Mark R Witcher, Adrian W Laxton, Stephen B Tatter, Jason P White, Thomas L Ellis, Paul EM Phillips, P Read Montague

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113 (1), 200-205, 2016

Single-stimulus functional MRI produces a neural individual difference measure for autism spectrum disorder

James T Lu, Kenneth T Kishida, Josepheen De Asis-Cruz, Terry Lohrenz, Diane Treadwell-Deering, Michael Beauchamp, P Read Montague

Clinical Psychological Science 3 (3), 422-432, 2015

Nonpolitical images evoke neural predictors of political ideology [PDF]

Woo-Young Ahn, Kenneth T Kishida, Xiaosi Gu, Terry Lohrenz, Ann Harvey, John R Alford, Kevin B Smith, Gideon Yaffe, John R Hibbing, Peter Dayan, P Read Montague

Current Biology 24 (22), 2693-2699, 2014

Economic probes of mental function and the extraction of computational phenotypes [PDF]

KT Kishida, PR Montague

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 94, 234-241, 2013

NEUROBEHAVIORAL INFLUENCE OF CONTROL ON THE EXPRESSION OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PROBLEM SOLVING CAPACITY

K Kishida, EJ Kim, A Harvey, PR Montague

JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE, 60-60, 2013

New approaches to investigating social gestures in autism spectrum disorder [PDF]

KT Kishida, J Li, J Schwind, PR Montague

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders 4 (1), 1-11, 2012

Searching for quantitative biomarkers of ASD using computational approaches and rapid assessment fMRI [PDF]

2012

A computational approach to "free wil" constrained by the games we play [PDF]

Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 6, 85, 2012

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS THROUGH A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL LENS

MA Patriquin, A Scarpa, BH Friedman, SW White, KT Kishida

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY 49, S7-S7, 2012

Imaging models of valuation during social interaction in humans [PDF]

KT Kishida, PR Montague

Biological psychiatry 72 (2), 93-100, 2012

Implicit signals in small group settings and their impact on the expression of cognitive capacity and associated brain responses [PDF]

KT Kishida, D Yang, KH Quartz, SR Quartz, PR Montague

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 367 â€¦, 2012

Sub-second dopamine detection in human striatum [PDF]

Kenneth T Kishida, Stefan G Sandberg, Terry Lohrenz, Youssef G Comair, Ignacio Sáez, Paul EM Phillips, P Read Montague

PloS one 6 (8), e23291, 2011

Neuroeconomic approaches to mental disorders [PDF]

KT Kishida, B King-Casas, PR Montague

Neuron 67 (4), 543-554, 2010

Reactive oxygen species, synaptic plasticity, and memory [PDF]

Oxidative neural injury, 1-27, 2009

Self responses along cingulate cortex reveal quantitative neural phenotype for high-functioning autism [PDF]

Pearl H Chiu, M Amin Kayali, Kenneth T Kishida, Damon Tomlin, Laura G Klinger, Mark R Klinger, P Read Montague

Neuron 57 (3), 463-473, 2008

Sources and targets of reactive oxygen species in synaptic plasticity and memory [PDF]

Antioxidants & redox signaling 9 (2), 233-244, 2007

Synaptic plasticity deficits and mild memory impairments in mouse models of chronic granulomatous disease [PDF]

KT Kishida, CA Hoeffer, D Hu, M Pao, SM Holland, E Klann

Molecular and Cellular Biology 26 (15), 5908-5920, 2006

The Role of NADPH Oxidase in Signal Transduction, Synaptic Plasticity, and Memory in the Hippocampus

Baylor College of Medicine. Department of Neuroscience, 2006

NADPH oxidase is required for NMDA receptorâ€dependent activation of ERK in hippocampal area CA1 [PDF]

KT Kishida, M Pao, SM Holland, E Klann

Journal of neurochemistry 94 (2), 299-306, 2005

Reactive oxygen species: cellular signaling molecules critical for hippocampal LTP and memory

E Klann, F Serrano, MV Tejada-Simon, LE Villasana, KT Kishida

JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY 87, 21-21, 2003

Inhibition of baculoviral disease by plant-mediated peroxidase activity and free radical generation [PDF]

Kelli Hoover, Kenneth T Kishida, Louis A DiGiorgio, Jeff Workman, Susan A Alaniz, Bruce D Hammock, Sean S Duffey

Journal of Chemical Ecology 24 (12), 1949-2001, 1998

Modeling Multiple Analytes Using Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry

AM Eltahir, JP White, TM Lohrenz, KT Kishida, PR Montague

nan

News

Scientists report differences in dopamine signals in patients with history of alcohol use disorder

Medical press Feb 07, 2023

Scientists Report Differences in Dopamine Signals in Patients with History of Alcohol Use Disorder

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Newsroom Feb 07, 2023

Differences in Dopamine Signals in Patients With History of Alcohol Use Disorder

Neuroscience News Feb 07, 2023

February 2023 - Neurosurgical Management of Psychiatric Disease

The Journal of Neurosurgery - Journal Club Feb 01, 2023

Shape-shifting DNA is helping researchers decode the human brain

Freethink Oct 01, 2022

Study indicates neurosurgical procedure used to measure dopamine and serotonin is safe

Triad Business Journal Sep 14, 2022

Study shows safety of neurosurgical technique used to assess dopamine and serotonin

ThePrint Aug 25, 2022

Neurosurgical Procedure Used to Measure Dopamine and Serotonin Is Safe

Neuroscience News Aug 24, 2022

Neurosurgical Procedure Used to Measure Dopamine and Serotonin Is Safe, According to New Study

Psychreg Aug 24, 2022

Are ice-cold showers good for you? I tried it for two months.

The Washington Post Mar 10, 2022

How to Get Healthier Dopamine Highs

TIME Mar 07, 2022

Research Day celebrates scholars and mentors

Wake Forest News Oct 05, 2021

New study reveals how dopamine and serotonin affect decision-making

UCL wellcome centre human neuroimaging Dec 09, 2020

the MetaLab Oct 20, 2020

Serotonin and Dopamine Linked to Decision-Making: Study

TheScientist Oct 16, 2020

Scientists Find Neurochemicals – Dopamine and Serotonin – Have Unexpectedly Profound Roles in the Human Brain

SciTechDaily Oct 14, 2020

Neurochemicals Dopamine and Serotonin Have Unexpected Role in Perception

Technology Networks Oct 13, 2020

Expanded Roles Identified for Dopamine, Serotonin in Human Perception

GEN news Oct 13, 2020

Scientists find neurochemicals have unexpectedly profound roles in the human brain

EurekAlert! Oct 12, 2020

Dopamine and Serotonin Play a Role in Human Perception and Decision-Making

Neuroscience News Oct 12, 2020

Scientists find neurochemicals have unexpectedly profound roles in the human brain

ScienceDaily Oct 12, 2020

Diving deep into the brain to measure neurotransmitters

Freethink Dec 21, 2019

Researchers hope fMRI can eventually help diagnose autism

HealthImaging May 21, 2019

Can This Brain-based Method Diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorder?

docwirenews May 21, 2019

Scientists succeed in testing potential brain-based method to diagnose autism

Neuroscience News May 20, 2019

Scientists succeed in testing potential brain-based method to diagnose autism

ScienceDaily May 20, 2019

Researchers Make First Serotonin Measurements in Humans

Neuroscience News Apr 30, 2018

Keep calm and carry on: Scientists make first serotonin measurements in humans

ScienceDaily Apr 30, 2018

Measuring Dopamine in Parkinsons Patient’s Gives Insight Into How We Learn

Neuroscience News Nov 23, 2015

First-of-kind dopamine measurements in human brain reveal insights into how we learn

ScienceDaily Nov 23, 2015

Network analysis may help grapple with autism’s diversity

Spectrum News Oct 18, 2015

Brainstorming? More like brain drain - meetings cause a measurable drop in people's IQs, say researchers

DailyMail Feb 08, 2012

Group settings can diminish expressions of intelligence, especially among women, study finds

ScienceDaily Jan 23, 2012

Dopamine release in human brain tracked at microsecond timescale reveals decision-making

ScienceDaily Nov 02, 2011

Poor Recognition Of 'Self' Found In High Functioning People With Autism

ScienceDaily Feb 10, 2008

Contact

Looking to volunteer as research study participant or want to learn more about the brain? Are you interested in joining the lab? Use the contact form below or reach out to Dr.K @ kkishida@wakehealth.edu.

Current research studies:

Decision-Making in Alcohol Use Disorder

Statement about research position opportunities:

Coming soon...

LOCATION

One Technology Place
200 E. First Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
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Volunteer as a research participant! Inquire about joining the lab! Ask a question, or learn more!
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Research

<-- link to Kenneth T. Kishida's faculty page

Explicit projects statement

Vision

Research vision /mission statement

Training and Mentoring Approach:

Now, I use my highly collaborative and internationally recognized research program to promote my mentees and create professional networks for them to grow within and thrive scientifically and professionally.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Activities:

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are important to me. I have made efforts to support DEI throughout my career and at many levels including efforts within my own lab, and at departmental and institutional levels.

I have served as an invited panelist on a townhall-style discussion and dialogue on the topic of “Anti-Asian Violence and Bias” that was held in the aftermath of the Atlanta shootings and anti-Asian violence that was amplified during the peak of the pandemic.

I have also participated in institutional “Courageous Conversations”, a series of institution-wide virtual discussions on a wide range of topics dealing with race, identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

I have been invited and continue to participate as a mentor and discussion leader on “Inclusive Leadership”. This 2-hour discussion in one session in a series that provides participants with DEI training and a certificate that is recognized by our institution.

Lab Members / Alumni

Principal Investigator

Kenneth T. Kishida: Associate Professor

Lab Technicians

Angela Jiang: Research Lab Technician

» I’ve been a research lab technician in Dr. Kishida’s lab since 2018. I help with collecting behavior, neuroimaging, and voltammetry data. I also program tasks that are used in studies and keep the lab stocked with supplies.

Mora Alabi: Research Lab Technician

» I am a research lab technician interested in neuroeconomic modeling of human decision making, addiction and belief updating.

Zackary A. Whitt: Research Lab Technician

» Bio coming soon...

Undergraduate Students

Hannah S. Yoder: Undergraduate Student

Graduate Students

Arian Kolahi Sohrabi: M.D./Ph.D Student

» Bio coming soon...

Ashley R. Shipp: Ph.D Student

» I am a neuroscience PhD student... working on cool neuroscience stuff... and also building this website! :)

Bashirul I. Sheikh: Ph.D. Student

» I am a first-year Neuroscience PhD student currently rotating with the lab. I am interested in computational models of learning, affect, and decision-making, and studying what goes awry in various clinical presentations.

Benjamin J. Maas: Ph.D. Student

Emily K. Dimarco: Ph.D. Student

Jonathan D. Trattner: Ph.D. Student

» My primary research interests involve human decision-making, specifically neuroeconomics — the synthesis of neuroscience and behavioral economics. I’m also a huge fan of R programming and work on tools for data visualization and statistical modeling.

Ross Fontana: Ph.D. Student

» My interests are in neurochemical measurement techniques and devices. I am working on novel voltammetry technology to improve in vivo neurochemical monitoring for various neurological conditions.

Rachel E. Jones: Ph.D. Student

Postdoctoral Researchers

Christina K. Johnson: Ph.D.

» I am a postdoctoral research fellow, fortunate enough to finish my PhD and join the Kishida Lab just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout undergraduate (ASU) and graduate (UMMSoM) school, I was active in hands-on research, ranging from physics and optics to medicine and neurophysiology.

Alumni

Brittany N. Liebenow: Ph.D.

Joseph Humphries: M.D. Student

Kasey P. Spry: Ph.D. Student

L. Paul Sands III: Ph.D.

Michael K. Howze: Research Lab Technician

Michelle Marie Williams: Neurosurgery Resident

» My interests are primarily neuro-oncological surgery and deep brain stimulation. I am particularly interested in future applications of deep brain stimulation for illnesses that have been traditionally considered psychiatric, such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.