Tamara Vanderwal, MD
About
Biography
Dr. Vanderwal's research focuses on using complex, naturalistic conditions like movie-watching to study clinically relevant patterns of brain function. Methodologically, her group uses novel analyses to capture the ways that large scale neural networks interact while the brain is processing complex streams of information. Dr. Vanderwal is also an attending physician at a community outpatient clinic where she sees her own patients and supervises child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. She also currently serves as a contributing editor to the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Appointments
Child Study Center
Assistant Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- MD
- Yale University School of Medicine (2006)
Research
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Tamara Vanderwal's published research.
Arielle Baskin-Sommers
Publications
2024
Changes in cortical grey matter volume with Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance intervention in children with developmental coordination disorder
Malik M, Weber A, Lang D, Vanderwal T, Zwicker J. Changes in cortical grey matter volume with Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance intervention in children with developmental coordination disorder. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience 2024, 18: 1316117. PMID: 38841123, PMCID: PMC11150831, DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1316117.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPerformance Quality Rating ScaleBruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2Developmental coordination disorderCortical gray matter volumeGray matter volumeCO-OP interventionGray matter volume changesMatter volumeVoxel-based morphometryCoordination disorderMovement qualityWaitlist groupOccupational performance interventionDecreased gray matter volumeGray matter volume differencesRight superior frontal gyrusRandomized waitlist-controlled trialTask-specific interventionBruininks-Oseretsky TestCognitive orientationDecreased gray matterFunctional brain changesSuperior frontal gyrusWaitlist-controlled trialMotor performanceDevelopment of human visual cortical function: A scoping review of task- and naturalistic-fMRI studies through the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks
Tansey R, Graff K, Rai S, Merrikh D, Godfrey K, Vanderwal T, Bray S. Development of human visual cortical function: A scoping review of task- and naturalistic-fMRI studies through the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2024, 162: 105729. PMID: 38763178, DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105729.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsInteractive specializationHuman functional brain developmentFunctional brain developmentVisual fMRI studyFMRI studyNaturalistic studyFMRI literatureExperimental tasksDevelopmental frameworkVisual processingNaturalistic paradigmBrain developmentWell-poweredLongitudinal studyFMRINeuroimagingYounger ageSpecialization frameworkChildhoodTaskParadigmAppraisalStudyFindingsSub-domainsCortical grey matter volume differences in children with developmental coordination disorder compared to typically developing children
Malik M, Weber A, Lang D, Vanderwal T, Zwicker J. Cortical grey matter volume differences in children with developmental coordination disorder compared to typically developing children. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience 2024, 18: 1276057. PMID: 38826616, PMCID: PMC11140146, DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1276057.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsLeft superior frontal gyrusGray matter volumeSuperior frontal gyrusVoxel-based morphometryGreater gray matter volumeDevelopmental coordination disorderCortical gray matter volumeFrontal gyrusMatter volumeTD childrenTD groupRight middle frontal gyrusGray matter volume differencesCoordination disorderBrain developmentSuperior parietal lobeMiddle frontal gyrusThreshold-free cluster enhancementConners 3 ADHD IndexNeuroimaging evidenceAttention difficultiesFrontal poleAttention skillsFunctional connectivityParietal lobeEarly-treatment cerebral blood flow change as a predictive biomarker of antidepressant treatment response: evidence from the EMBARC clinical trial.
Dang Y, Lu B, Vanderwal T, Castellanos F, Yan C. Early-treatment cerebral blood flow change as a predictive biomarker of antidepressant treatment response: evidence from the EMBARC clinical trial. Psychological Medicine 2024, 1-10. PMID: 38720516, DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724001156.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsMajor depressive disorderBrain regionsTreatment of Major Depressive DisorderHamilton Depression Rating Scale scoresBiomarkers of antidepressant treatment responseCerebral blood flowBiosignatures of Antidepressant ResponseDepression Rating Scale scoresSerotonin reuptake inhibitor treatmentAntidepressant treatment responseResponse to antidepressantsTreatment responseRating Scale scoresBiomarkers of treatment responseAssociated with increased cerebral perfusionEstablishing ModeratorsAntidepressant responseAntidepressant effectsDepressive disorderTemporal cortexNeural biomarkersPostcentral regionsCerebral blood flow changesWhole-brainDisabling illness302. A Method for Inclusion of High-Motion Underrepresented Youths for Robust Brain-Behaviour Relationships
Ramduny J, Uddin L, Feczko E, Fair D, Vanderwal T, Kelly C, Baskin-Sommers A. 302. A Method for Inclusion of High-Motion Underrepresented Youths for Robust Brain-Behaviour Relationships. Biological Psychiatry 2024, 95: s223. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.02.801.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConcepts
2019
ADHD desynchronizes brain activity during watching a distracted multi-talker conversation
Salmi J, Metwaly M, Tohka J, Alho K, Leppämäki S, Tani P, Koski A, Vanderwal T, Laine M. ADHD desynchronizes brain activity during watching a distracted multi-talker conversation. NeuroImage 2019, 216: 116352. PMID: 31730921, DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116352.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderIntersubject correlationAttention networkFunctional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataAberrant brain responsesDorsal attention networkDefault mode networkPosterior parietal cortexMultiple sensory inputsAuditory distractorsIrrelevant speechNaturalistic stimuliExperimental tasksBrain responsesHyperactivity disorderBrain activityEveryday situationsMagnetic resonance imaging dataParietal cortexBrain statesSensory cortexHealthy controlsSensory inputEveryday complexitiesDistractors
Links & Media
News
- June 28, 2016
Movies Help Kids in MRI, Could Probe Causes of ADHD
- November 26, 2012
59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- October 08, 2012
Yale alum builds a crucial bridge for psychiatry researchers
- June 25, 2012
Child Study Center 2012 Graduates