Professor, Psychiatry and Neurology University of Pittsburgh Phone: (412) 246-6970 Fax: (412) 383-1755 Email: beckerjt@msx.upmc.edu

Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University

Research Interests

Dr. Becker's research focuses on the information processing defects which can produce human memory disorders and the nature and extent of the neuroanatomical damage which produces these defects. By understanding the pattern of the spared and impaired cognitive processes of patients with neurobehavioral disorder, he hopes to learn more about the nature of normal memory and memory processes. Further, by examining the patterns and extent of impairment in patients, the natural history of these disorders can be evaluated.

Two basic approaches are used in this research. The first follows the more classic lines of neuropsychology and behavioral neurology. By careful study of the patterns of cognitive dysfunction, and the factors that predict the expression of such patterns, it is not only possible to infer causal relationships among symptoms of CNS dysfunction, but also to infer the functional role of the disordered brain regions.

The research program has a strong emphasis on functional neuro-imaging, and uses these techniques to further elucidate patterns of functional decline and compensation in patients with specific neuro-behavioral syndromes. Multivariate statistical procedures are used to examine the functional connectivity among brain regions in normal and diseased brains. These procedures are important in that they can reveal changing patterns of CNS functional organization that may reflect either (or both) compensatory reactions, or the underlying cause of the cognitive deficit. This research focuses on semantic memory processing and uses both PET and fMRI modalities to provide in vivo data on brain organization and function.

Recent Publications

• Lepore N, Brun C, Chou Y-Y, Chiang M-C, Dutton RA, Hayashi KM, Luders E, Lopez OL, Aizenstein HJ, Toga AW, Becker JT, Thompson PM : Generalized tensor-based morphometry of HIV/AIDS using multivariate statistics on deformation tensors. IEEE Trans Med Imaging 27(1): 129-141, 2008.
• Becker JT, Mestre LT, Ziolko S, Lopez OL: Gene-environment interactions with cognition in late life and compression of morbidity. Am J Psychiatry 165(6): 849-52, 2007.
• Thompson PM, Hayashi KM, Dutton RA, Chiang MC, Leow AD, Sowell ER, DeZubicaray G, Becker JT, Lopez OL: Tracking Alzheimer's disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1097: 183-214, 2007.
• Becker JT, Davis SW, Hayashi KM, Meltzer CC, Toga AW, Lopez OL, Thompson PM: Imaging Methods and Analysis in Geriatrics Research Group. Three-dimensional patterns of hippocampal atrophy in mild cognitive impairment. Arch Neurol 63(1): 97-101, 2006.
• Lopez OL, Becker JT, Jagust W, Fitzpatrick A, Carlson M, T DU, Breitner J, Lyketsos C, Jones B, Kawas C, Kuller LH: Neuropsychological characteristics of mild cognitive impairment subgroups. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 77(2): 159-65, 2005.
• Bell-McGinty S, Lopez OL, Meltzer CC, Scanlon JM, Whyte EM, DeKosky ST, Becker JT. Differential cortical atrophy in subgroups of mild cognitive impairment. Arch Neurol 62(9): 1393-7, 2005.