Nim Tottenham
Associate Professor, Adjunct in the Child Study Center, Yale School of MedicineAbout
Titles
Associate Professor, Adjunct in the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine
Biography
Nim Tottenham, Ph.D. uses magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral methods to examine the development of the human amygdala and its neural connections and associated emotional development, including emotional reactivity and management with the aim of identifying sensitive periods for human amygdala-cortical development. She examines limbic-cortical development in both typical groups of children and adolescents and those who have experienced early life adversity. She is a recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology, the National Institute of Mental Health Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (BRAINS) Award, and the Developmental Science Early Career Researcher Prize. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Barnard College of Columbia University and her doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota. She received postdoctoral training from the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Weill Cornell Medical College. More information on her research and laboratory can be found at: http://tottenhamlab.psych.ucla.edu/.
Appointments
Child Study Center
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Research
Publications
2025
Attachment 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 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 findingsNeurobiologyCognitionSchemaAttachmentEmotionsNeuroscienceCircuitryUnderstanding the development of a functional brain circuit: reward processing as an illustration
Opendak M, Meyer H, Callaghan B, Abramson L, John S, Bath K, Lee F, Tottenham N, Sullivan R. Understanding the development of a functional brain circuit: reward processing as an illustration. Translational Psychiatry 2025, 15: 53. PMID: 39962048, PMCID: PMC11832941, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03280-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsReward processingReward systemAberrant reward processingNeural reward circuitsAdult circuit functionEnvironmental demands changePromote adaptive behaviorFunctional brain circuitsBrain network functionDevelopmental research questionsReward circuitReward behaviorPsychiatric disordersBrain circuitsAdaptive behaviorRewardCircuit functionDevelopmental transitionsImpact infantsDevelopmental processesDisordersStimuliBrainBehaviorChildhoodLooking Back to Look Forward: Leveraging Historical Models for Future-Oriented Caregiving
Winn M, Tottenham N. Looking Back to Look Forward: Leveraging Historical Models for Future-Oriented Caregiving. Daedalus 2025, 154: 70-81. DOI: 10.1162/daed_a_02124.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchBlack institutionsRobust learning opportunitiesIndependent Black institutionsAgentic learnersEducational contextLearning opportunitiesNurturing childrenWell-being of childrenEducationFuture-orientedCommunity membersInstitutionsNested communitiesHistorical modelsLearnersChildrenBiological familiesWell-beingInvestigative Approaches to Resilient Emotion Regulation Neurodevelopment in a South African Birth Cohort
Yates T, Sigwebela S, Seedat S, Milham M, du Plessis S, Abramson L, Niemiec E, Worthman C, Rotheram-Borus M, Salum G, Franco A, Zuanazzi A, Ahmed F, Gemmell K, Christodoulou J, Mhlaba N, Mqhele N, Ngalimane N, Sambudla A, Tottenham N, Tomlinson M. Investigative Approaches to Resilient Emotion Regulation Neurodevelopment in a South African Birth Cohort. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science 2025, 5: 100457. PMID: 40144514, PMCID: PMC11938085, DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2025.100457.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSouth African birth cohortAfrican birth cohortEmotion regulationMiddle-income countriesBirth cohortNeurobiology of resilienceSelf-report measuresMagnetic resonance imagingMental health problemsNeurodevelopmental correlatesFunctional neurobiologyResonance imagingMental healthLongitudinal time pointsLow-incomeTime pointsHealth problemsDevelopmental historyAdolescent resilienceAnalytic planCohortNeurodevelopmentRegulate neurodevelopmentAdolescentsAdversityMachine learning for identifying caregiving adversities associated with greatest risk for mental health problems in children
Vannucci A, Fields A, Heleniak C, Bloom P, Harmon C, Nikolaidis A, Douglas I, Gibson L, Camacho N, Choy T, Hadis S, VanTieghem M, Dozier M, Milham M, Tottenham N. Machine learning for identifying caregiving adversities associated with greatest risk for mental health problems in children. Nature Mental Health 2025, 3: 71-82. DOI: 10.1038/s44220-024-00355-6.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2024
On the role of familiarity and developmental exposure in music-evoked autobiographical memories
Kathios N, Bloom P, Singh A, Bartlett E, Algharazi S, Siegelman M, Shen F, Beresford L, DiMaggio-Potter M, Bennett S, Natarajan N, Ou Y, Loui P, Aly M, Tottenham N. On the role of familiarity and developmental exposure in music-evoked autobiographical memories. Memory 2024, 33: 178-192. PMID: 39495656, DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2024.2420973.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMusic-evoked autobiographical memoriesCue autobiographical memoriesAutobiographical memoryPerceptions of familiarityFamiliar musicMusic familiarityMusic listeningMusic clipsMusicSelf-reported familiarityListenersFamiliarity ratingsCognitively healthy older adultsHealthy older adultsFamiliarityOlder adultsParticipating adolescentsMemoryClipsYoung adulthoodParticipantsAffectPerceptionMiddle childhoodYouthChildhood neglect is associated with alterations in neural prediction error signaling and the response to novelty
Aloi J, Crum K, Blair K, Zhang R, Bashford-Largo J, Bajaj S, Hwang S, Averbeck B, Tottenham N, Dobbertin M, Blair R. Childhood neglect is associated with alterations in neural prediction error signaling and the response to novelty. Psychological Medicine 2024, 54: 3930-3938. PMID: 39445510, PMCID: PMC11578899, DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724002411.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchReward prediction errorEarly life stressLateral frontal cortexNovelty taskFrontal cortexNovel stimuliNeural prediction error signalsBlood oxygen level-dependent responsesAdolescents exposed to high levelsFunctional magnetic resonance imagingResponse to rewardChildhood Trauma QuestionnairePrediction error signalsLevel-dependent responsesAssociated with impairmentAssociation of abuseLevels of abuseReward responsivenessNeural differencesTrauma QuestionnaireChildhood neglectInstrumental learningLife stressBehavioral impairmentsMonetary rewardsProbing the content of affective semantic memory following caregiving‐related early adversity
Vannucci A, Fields A, Bloom P, Camacho N, Choy T, Durazi A, Hadis S, Harmon C, Heleniak C, VanTieghem M, Dozier M, Milham M, Ghetti S, Tottenham N. Probing the content of affective semantic memory following caregiving‐related early adversity. Developmental Science 2024, 27: e13518. PMID: 38664866, PMCID: PMC11489028, DOI: 10.1111/desc.13518.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSemantic memoryAttachment securityParent-child interactionsCaregiving adversityEarly adversityAttachment experiencesCognitive neuroscience frameworkFalse memory taskEarly caregiving adversityInternal working modelsMemory taskAttachment schemasNeuroscience frameworkFalse recognitionPreregistered studyBowlby's notionChild reportsSchema representationPotential malleabilityAdverse exposuresSchema knowledgeCognitive scienceParental-reportMemoryAdversityThe effects of parental presence on amygdala and mPFC activation during fear conditioning: An exploratory study
Abramson L, Callaghan B, Silvers J, Choy T, VanTieghem M, Vannucci A, Fields A, Tottenham N. The effects of parental presence on amygdala and mPFC activation during fear conditioning: An exploratory study. Developmental Science 2024, 27: e13505. PMID: 38549194, PMCID: PMC11436486, DOI: 10.1111/desc.13505.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMedial prefrontal cortexMedial prefrontal cortex activationFear conditioning taskFear learningUnconditioned stimulusMPFC activityAmygdala activationConditioning taskUnconditioned responseConditioned threat cueConditioned fear stimuliChildren's stress responsesMultiple comparison correctionThreat cuesFear conditioningPrefrontal cortexSafety cuesAversive stimuliFearful stimuliAversive noiseBehavioral effectsRodent findingsStress responseBOLD activityUS presentationsPreliminary examination of the effects of an early parenting intervention on amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex resting-state functional connectivity among high-risk children: A randomized clinical trial.
Korom M, Valadez E, Tottenham N, Dozier M, Spielberg J. Preliminary examination of the effects of an early parenting intervention on amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex resting-state functional connectivity among high-risk children: A randomized clinical trial. Development And Psychopathology 2024, 37: 384-392. PMID: 38247369, PMCID: PMC11260902, DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001669.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchResting-state functional connectivityMiddle childhoodFunctional connectivityResting-state functional MRI scansChildren's emotion regulationFunctional MRI scansChild protective servicesRs-FC analysisEarly parenting interventionsCPS-involved familiesEmotion regulationRs-FCSeed-based RS FC analysisFoster care programsEvidence-based parenting programsParenting interventionsHigh-risk childrenGroup-level predictorsComparison groupParenting programsGroup of familiesMRI scansChildrenRandomized clinical trialsChildhood