Reza Momenan, Ph.D.

Dr. Momenan has been involved in neuroimaging research studies of alcohol use disorder for more than 25 years. He has been providing a wide range of technical and scientific expertise and support to NIAAA Intramural program in understanding the effects of alcohol addiction on brain regions related to cognition, emotion, reward, motivation, and decision-making. His research spans from conceptualizing research to developing and conducting research protocols studying the neuroscience of addictions, including pharmacological fMRI studies, particularly studies involving alcohol administration. His current research interests are characterizing the sub-types of alcohol use disorder using neuroimaging biomarkers, investigating the neural substrates of risky behaviors despite negative consequences or under the negative emotional conditions; including how perceptual features drive approach-avoidance circuits as well as how the resting state and structural connectivity alterations might be critical in predicting and/or controlling relapse and abstinence. Dr. Momenan is also interested in the use of other human brain mapping approaches as well as innovative techniques such as TMS and real-time fMRI neurofeedback for neural modulation, and machine learning algorithms in understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders, specifically addiction, as well as predicting risk, treatment efficacy, and relapse. Dr. Momenan has recently embarked on expanding the Core’s research domain by implementing neuropsychophysiological experiments using other modalities such as fNIRS, EEG, and Eye Tracking.