The Mario F. Dulay Jr. lab, also called The Houston Institute for Neuropsychological Knowledge (THINK) laboratory, studies the neurobiological basis of human behavior using neuropsychological, neuroimaging e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), neurophysiological, and sensory psychophysical methods to better understand the impact of disease on the brain. Collaborating with physicians within the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute, the lab studies various patient populations to understand the interrelationships among neurocognition, emotion, and biology as a function of disease progression or recovery from neurotrauma. Various research topics pursued include the study of

• Pre-to-post surgical cognitive changes after unilateral frontal or temporal lobe resection to treat medically intractable epilepsy
• Study of gray and white matter correlates (using DTI, MRI) of cognitive and emotional impairments in individuals with epilepsy, tumor resection, subthalamic nucleus-deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) implant for Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, dementia, normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), stroke and vascular surgeries
• Study of the cognitive and emotional sequelae associated with stroke and course of recovery
• Study of cognitive rehabilitation and neuropsychotherapy interventions in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases or after brain injury or neurosurgery. The primary goals are to identify predictors of cognitive and emotional decline and develop rehabilitation models to minimize these declines after neurosurgery or neurotrauma