Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsNim Tottenham
Associate Professor, Adjunct in the Child Study Center, Yale School of MedicineAbout
Research
Publications
2026
Adolescent-Specific Adaptations to Caregiving Unpredictability: A Longitudinal Examination of Cognitive Flexibility
Niemiec E, Fields A, Vannucci A, Abramson L, Bloom P, Camacho N, Choy T, Durazi A, Gibson L, Hadis S, Harmon C, Heleniak C, Umbach R, VanTieghem M, Dozier M, Milham M, Tottenham N. Adolescent-Specific Adaptations to Caregiving Unpredictability: A Longitudinal Examination of Cognitive Flexibility. Developmental Psychology 2026 PMID: 41817582, PMCID: PMC12987549, DOI: 10.1037/dev0002168.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCognitive flexibilityEarly sensitive periodDimensions of executive functionsPeriod of infant developmentDevelopmental adaptationsExecutive functionCognitive outcomesLongitudinal designAssociated with improvementsDevelopmental periodEarly lifeInfant developmentAdolescentsDevelopmental windowCaregiversUnpredictabilityFindingsAffective Schemas: Acquisition, Updating, and Inference
Vannucci A, Yu W, Martin N, Patel S, Tottenham N. Affective Schemas: Acquisition, Updating, and Inference. Emotion 2026, 26: 52-73. PMID: 40658543, PMCID: PMC12262173, DOI: 10.1037/emo0001561.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2025
Causal Effects of Enhanced Parenting on Resting-State Graph Properties of Adolescents at Risk for Maltreatment
Korom M, Dozier M, Chen H, Macera E, Tottenham N, Spielberg J. Causal Effects of Enhanced Parenting on Resting-State Graph Properties of Adolescents at Risk for Maltreatment. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science 2025, 6: 100646. PMID: 41567987, PMCID: PMC12818129, DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100646.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchABC interventionLocal network propertiesChild protective servicesResting-state connectomeExploratory moderator analysesBrain network propertiesAt-Risk AdolescentsEffects of early interventionBrain network metricsGraph theoretical analysisCPS-involved familiesExternalizing symptomsParietal cortexModeration analysisResting-stateMagnetic resonance imaging scansParenting interventionsNetwork propertiesChild maltreatmentNeural pathwaysGroup-level predictorsAdolescentsIntervention effectsEarly interventionImaging scansReproducible Brain Charts: An open data resource for mapping brain development and its associations with mental health
Shafiei G, Esper N, Hoffmann M, Ai L, Chen A, Cluce J, Covitz S, Giavasis S, Lane C, Mehta K, Moore T, Salo T, Tapera T, Calkins M, Colcombe S, Davatzikos C, Gur R, Gur R, Pan P, Jackowski A, Rokem A, Rohde L, Shinohara R, Tottenham N, Zuo X, Cieslak M, Franco A, Kiar G, Salum G, Milham M, Satterthwaite T. Reproducible Brain Charts: An open data resource for mapping brain development and its associations with mental health. Neuron 2025, 113: 3758-3779.e6. PMID: 40987284, PMCID: PMC12950001, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.08.026.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBrain developmentPsychiatric phenotypesBrain chartsDimensions of psychopathologyAssociated with mental healthStudy of brain developmentBifactor modelPsychiatric neuroscienceMental disordersNeuroimaging dataPsychopathologyDisorders of brain developmentMental healthHeterogeneous sampleDevelopmental effectsBrainData-sharing initiativesDisordersBifactorNeuroimagingNeuroscienceAssociationYouthData use agreementFront Cover: Cover Image, Volume 28, Issue 5
Humphries A, Peckinpaugh I, Kupka G, Blair R, Tottenham N, Neta M. Front Cover: Cover Image, Volume 28, Issue 5. Developmental Science 2025, 28 DOI: 10.1111/desc.70151.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchIntergenerational Transmission of Valence Bias Is Moderated by Attachment
Humphries A, Peckinpaugh I, Kupka G, Blair R, Tottenham N, Neta M. Intergenerational Transmission of Valence Bias Is Moderated by Attachment. Developmental Science 2025, 28: e70068. PMID: 40853061, PMCID: PMC12376953, DOI: 10.1111/desc.70068.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsValence biasParent-child attachmentIntergenerational transmissionChildren’s cognitive biasesAmbiguous stimuliParent-child communicationAmbiguous cuesStructural equation modelingEmotional ambiguityAmbiguous taskCognitive biasesSocial functioningChild dyadsMental healthBias developmentParental biasEquation modelingInterpersonal connectionsSocial learningChildrenParentsAppraisalVideo AbstractValenceAttachmentThreat Sensitivity of Adolescents with Abuse Histories: The Impact of Residential Care
Blair K, Bashford-Largo J, Bajaj S, Zhang R, Mathur A, Elowsky J, Dominguez A, Emmert A, Dobbertin M, Tottenham N, Tyler P, Blair R. Threat Sensitivity of Adolescents with Abuse Histories: The Impact of Residential Care. Residential Treatment For Children & Youth 2025, 42: 566-589. DOI: 10.1080/0886571x.2025.2543392.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThreat sensitivityLevels of abuseThreat responsesNeural response to threatHeightened threat sensitivityResponses to threatResidential careSensitivity of adolescentsFusiform cortexThreat taskTrait symptomsFrontal cortexLingual gyrusChildhood abuseSymptom severityAbuse historyAbuse exposureResidential programsAbuseAdolescentsAssociated with significant declinesCortexExposure to high levelsSymptomsAmygdala/hippocampusBrain-to-brain communication channels and information content
Lee R, Sajda P, Tottenham N. Brain-to-brain communication channels and information content. Proceedings Of The International Society For Magnetic Resonance In Medicine ... Scientific Meeting And Exhibition. 2025 DOI: 10.58530/2025/2355.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAn interaction-centric approach for quantifying eye-to-eye reciprocal interaction
Lee R, Sajda P, Tottenham N. An interaction-centric approach for quantifying eye-to-eye reciprocal interaction. NeuroImage 2025, 311: 121175. PMID: 40157468, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121175.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAttachment as Prediction: Insights From Cognitive and Developmental Neuroscience
Tottenham N, Vannucci A. Attachment as Prediction: Insights From Cognitive and Developmental Neuroscience. Current Directions In Psychological Science 2025, 34: 195-206. PMID: 40787155, PMCID: PMC12333888, DOI: 10.1177/09637214251313714.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchEarly caregiving experiencesAttachment schemasEmotion regulationMidline cortical regionsCaregiving experienceNeurodevelopmental frameworkDevelopmental neuroscienceEmotional Well-BeingFunctional connectivityNeural circuitryCortical regionsNeural predictionPredictive inferenceWell-beingMemoryEmpirical findingsNeurobiologyCognitionSchemaAttachmentEmotionsNeuroscienceCircuitry
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