Karim Ibrahim
Assistant Professor in the Child Study CenterCards
Appointments
Contact Info
Child Study Center
Neison Irving Harris Building, G02, 230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
About
Titles
Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center
Biography
Karim Ibrahim is an Assistant Professor at the Yale Child Study Center. His translational neuroscience research focuses on brain networks associated with emotion regulation impairments in childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. Dr. Karim Ibrahim’s research is interdisciplinary and integrates multimodal imaging methods including functional and structural MRI, machine learning, and network neuroscience/connectomics approaches to identify biomarkers relevant to child psychopathology. His recent interests lie in using and developing tools predictive modeling/machine learning approaches that leverage large-scale neuroimaging datasets, including data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, for identifying robust brain-based biomarkers. Among other things in this area, his research also investigates dynamics of the human functional connectome and large-scale networks, how brain connectivity is altered in mental health disorders (such as a disruptive behavior disorders, anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorder) and the neural response to treatment in youths. As a licensed clinical child psychologist, he also has extensive experience in developmental psychopathology, including assessments and cognitive-behavioral interventions for autism spectrum disorder, mood, anxiety, and disruptive behavior. Karim completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center T32 research program in Translational Developmental Neuroscience and through an award from the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation multidisciplinary research training program.
Appointments
Child Study Center
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral fellow
- Yale University (2020)
- PsyD
- University of Hartford, Clinical Psychology (2016)
- MA
- University of Hartford, Clinical Practices (2014)
- MS
- Quinnipiac University, Cell and Molecular Biology (2009)
- BA
- Rutgers University, Psychology and Neuroscience (2004)
Research
Overview
Multimodal Imaging Biomarkers of Cognitive Control Networks in Children with Disruptive Behavior (K23 MH128451). This study investigates the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation difficulties in youth with disruptive behavior. Disruptive behaviors include aggression, noncompliance, irritability, anger outburst, and/or easily frustrated. The study utilizes fMRI to identify brain networks involved in emotion regulation and that are implicated in childhood disruptive behaviors. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, this 5-year study will enroll 135 participants between the ages of 9 to 12 years with varying levels of disruptive behaviors. A subgroup of participants will also be enrolled with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without co-occurring behavioral difficulties. Study participants complete parent- and self-report measures of emotion and social functioning, diagnostic assessments of child psychopathology including autism, and fMRI. This study leverages fMRI to understand patterns of functional connectivity across brain networks involved in emotion regulation in youths with disruptive behavior.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
ORCID
0000-0002-8205-6723- View Lab Website
Ibrahim Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Denis Sukhodolsky, PhD
Fangyong Li, MS, MPH
Gregory McCarthy
Brent Vander Wyk, PhD
Heidi Grantz
Melissa C Funaro, MLS, MS
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Social Perception
Emotional Regulation
Publications
2024
89. Shared Disruptions in Neural Circuits of Eye Gaze Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophrenia
Ibrahim K, Iturmendi-Sabater I, Vasishth M, Barron D, Guardavaccaro M, Holmes A, McCarthy G, Eickhoff S, Sukhodolsky D. 89. Shared Disruptions in Neural Circuits of Eye Gaze Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry 2024, 95: s135-s136. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.02.324.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchReview: Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatments for Childhood Irritability and Aggressive Behavior
Kalvin C, Zhong J, Rutten M, Ibrahim K, Sukhodolsky D. Review: Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatments for Childhood Irritability and Aggressive Behavior. JAACAP Open 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaacop.2024.01.009.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsCognitive-behavioral therapyParent management trainingDialectical behavior therapyChildhood irritabilityChildhood aggressionMaladaptive aggressionPsychosocial treatmentsPsychosocial interventionsReview of evidence-based psychosocial treatmentsDisruptive mood dysregulation disorderEvidence-based psychosocial treatmentsCo-occurring psychopathologySevere mood dysregulationOutpatient mental health servicesChild psychiatric disordersChild mental healthMental health servicesMood dysregulationBehavioral therapyDysregulation disorderPsychiatric disordersDisruptive behaviorWell-powered randomized controlled trialsAggressive behaviorRelevant to clinical practiceNeural circuit disruptions of eye gaze processing in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis
Ibrahim K, Iturmendi-Sabater I, Vasishth M, Barron D, Guardavaccaro M, Funaro M, Holmes A, McCarthy G, Eickhoff S, Sukhodolsky D. Neural circuit disruptions of eye gaze processing in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Research 2024, 264: 298-313. PMID: 38215566, PMCID: PMC10922721, DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.12.003.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsRight inferior frontal gyrusAutism spectrum disorderInferior frontal gyrusEye gaze processingActivation likelihood estimationRight fusiform gyrusGaze processingFrontal gyrusFusiform gyrusFrontotemporal circuitryFunctional decodingSpectrum disorderActivation likelihood estimation meta-analysisMeta-analytic connectivity modelingMeta-analytic connectivityNeural circuit disruptionsTransdiagnostic biomarkerEmotional processingLeft amygdalaNeurobiological dysfunctionSocial cognitionEmotion perceptionNeural mechanismsSchizophreniaSpatial cognition
2023
Aggression Is Associated With Social Adaptive Functioning in Children With ASD and Anxiety
Kalvin C, Jordan R, Rowley S, Weis A, Ibrahim K, Sukhodolsky D. Aggression Is Associated With Social Adaptive Functioning in Children With ASD and Anxiety. Focus On Autism And Other Developmental Disabilities 2023, 38: 168-176. PMID: 38469453, PMCID: PMC10927274, DOI: 10.1177/10883576231165265.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsAutism spectrum disorderSocial adaptive skillsAdaptive skillsSocial adaptiveAggressive behaviorSocial adaptive functioningSample of childrenAdaptive functioningASD diagnosisSpectrum disorderSocial functioningAge 8SkillsChildrenFunctioningAggressionAnxietyBehaviorParticipantsDisordersFindingsAdaptive
2022
Disruption in Large-Scale Brain Networks is Linked to Maladaptive Childhood Aggression
Ibrahim K, McCarthy G, Scheinost D, Sukhodolsky D. Disruption in Large-Scale Brain Networks is Linked to Maladaptive Childhood Aggression. Biological Psychiatry 2022, 91: s87. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.02.233.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricAmygdala–prefrontal connectivity in children with maladaptive aggression is modulated by social impairment
Ibrahim K, Kalvin C, Morand-Beaulieu S, He G, Pelphrey KA, McCarthy G, Sukhodolsky DG. Amygdala–prefrontal connectivity in children with maladaptive aggression is modulated by social impairment. Cerebral Cortex 2022, 32: 4371-4385. PMID: 35059702, PMCID: PMC9574236, DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab489.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSocial impairmentPrefrontal cortexEmotion processingMaladaptive aggressionAggressive behaviorSocial deficitsEmotion perception taskImplicit emotion processingFace emotion processingFunctional magnetic resonance imagingGreater social impairmentAmygdala-prefrontal connectivityChildhood-onset psychiatric disordersVentral prefrontal cortexDorsolateral prefrontal cortexFearful facesSocial cognitionPerception taskCalm facesSocial cuesTransdiagnostic sampleAmygdala reactivityParent ratingsPFC connectivityDiminished connectivity
2021
Electrophysiological signatures of inhibitory control in children with Tourette syndrome and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Morand-Beaulieu S, Smith SD, Ibrahim K, Wu J, Leckman JF, Crowley MJ, Sukhodolsky DG. Electrophysiological signatures of inhibitory control in children with Tourette syndrome and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Cortex 2021, 147: 157-168. PMID: 35042055, PMCID: PMC8816877, DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.12.006.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderGo/NoGo taskFrontal midline theta oscillationsFrontal midline theta powerEvent-related potentialsNoGo taskHyperactivity disorderInhibitory controlTheta powerTheta oscillationsP300 latencyInhibitory control abilitiesDense-array EEG recordingsDistinct electrophysiological profileTourette syndromeNeural underpinningsElectrophysiological correlatesTask performanceBehavioral performanceElectrophysiological signaturesP300 componentBrain activityN200Control abilityTaskIncreased amygdala and decreased frontolimbic r esting- s tate functional connectivity in children with aggressive behavior
Sukhodolsky DG, Ibrahim K, Kalvin CB, Jordan RP, Eilbott J, Hampson M. Increased amygdala and decreased frontolimbic r esting- s tate functional connectivity in children with aggressive behavior. Social Cognitive And Affective Neuroscience 2021, 17: 634-644. PMID: 34850939, PMCID: PMC9250305, DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab128.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDorsal anterior cingulateFunctional connectivityAnterior cingulateDorsolateral prefrontal cortical regionsResting-state brain connectivityAggressive behaviorResting-state functional connectivityIntrinsic connectivity distributionAmygdala-prefrontal circuitryAnterior cingulate cortexIntrinsic functional connectivityPrefrontal cortical regionsHealthy controlsAmygdala connectivityGreater severityVentromedial prefrontal cortexCingulate cortexFunctional MRI dataCortical regionsMedial prefrontalMaladaptive aggressionPrefrontal cortexBrain connectivitySeverity of aggressionTreatment-seeking childrenLarge-scale functional brain networks of maladaptive childhood aggression identified by connectome-based predictive modeling
Ibrahim K, Noble S, He G, Lacadie C, Crowley MJ, McCarthy G, Scheinost D, Sukhodolsky DG. Large-scale functional brain networks of maladaptive childhood aggression identified by connectome-based predictive modeling. Molecular Psychiatry 2021, 27: 985-999. PMID: 34690348, PMCID: PMC9035467, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01317-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsLarge-scale functional networksChildhood aggressionSeverity of aggressionIndividual differencesBrain networksAdolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) studyConnectome-based predictive modelingReactive-Proactive Aggression QuestionnaireEmotion perception taskLarge-scale functional brain networksAssociation of connectivityFunctional networksCognitive Development StudyAggressive behaviorFunctional brain networksIndependent samplesCognitive controlEmotion regulationEmotion processingPerception taskCalm facesMaladaptive aggressionPsychiatric disordersTransdiagnostic sampleFrontoparietal networkSocial cognitive skills groups increase medial prefrontal cortex activity in children with autism spectrum disorder
Ibrahim K, Soorya LV, Halpern DB, Gorenstein M, Siper PM, Wang AT. Social cognitive skills groups increase medial prefrontal cortex activity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research 2021, 14: 2495-2511. PMID: 34486810, DOI: 10.1002/aur.2603.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAutism spectrum disorderMedial prefrontal cortexTheory of mindSocial skills groupsSchool-aged childrenSkill groupsSocial cognitionIrony comprehensionSkills interventionSpectrum disorderSocial functioningMedial prefrontal cortex activityComparison groupIrony Comprehension TaskSocial cognitive skillsEye gaze processingSocial skills interventionsFunctional MRI taskSocial Responsiveness ScalePrefrontal cortex activityFirst fMRI studyChildren ages 8Whole-brain analysisActive treatment conditionsGaze processing
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Brain Imaging Study of Emotion Regulation in Children
HIC ID2000031303RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date11/30/2023Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge5 years - 15 yearsCBT for Anxiety in Children With Autism
HIC ID1211011144RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date06/30/2020Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge8 years - 14 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor Travel Fellowship Award
Regional AwardSociety of Biological PsychiatryDetails01/17/2023United Stateshonor NIMH K23 Career Development Award
National AwardNIMHDetails10/01/2022United Stateshonor Graduate Student Research Award
National AwardAmerican Psychological Association, Division 33Details10/09/2021United Stateshonor Research Mentor Award
Yale School of Medicine AwardChild Study Center, Yale School of MedicineDetails06/18/2021United Stateshonor Diversity Travel Award
International AwardInternational Society for Autism ResearchDetails10/03/2019United States
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Contacts
Child Study Center
Neison Irving Harris Building, G02, 230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
Ibrahim Lab
230 South Frontage Road, Sterling Hall of Medicine , I-Wing
New Haven, CT 06520
United States
Locations
Neison Irving Harris Building
Academic Office
230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06519
Sterling Hall of Medicine
Lab
333 Cedar Street, Wing I, Rm 171
New Haven, CT 06510