Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation (CNBS)
Optimizing and applying noninvasive brain stimulation to health care and research

Faculty

Lindsay Oberman,PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

I was born in Gaithersburg, Maryland and received my B.S. degree with a double major in Neuroscience and Psychology from Emory University.  I obtained my Ph.D. degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of California, San Diego in May of 2007.  The topic of my dissertation research was the role of the mirror neuron system in the social and communicative deficits of autism spectrum disorders.  I was awarded a fellowship by the National Institute of Mental Health which enabled me to join the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation as a postdoctoral research fellow in July of 2007.  The focus of my postdoctoral research is motor plasticity in autism spectrum disorders.  You can reach me at loberman(at)bidmc(dot)harvard(dot)edu or               617-667-5247       

Research Interests / Research Focus

EMPATHY: Rather than perceiving something as outside and separate from yourself (duality), empathy is the ability of being that which is perceived, and becoming that which is beheld. Empathy can be experienced for others’ actions, thoughts, sensations or emotions.  It is the unification of object and subject. Empathy is both a cognitive process (the ability to understand another's emotional state) and an affective capacity (the sharing of the emotional state of another).  My research interest lies in empathy disorders, specifically Autism.

MIRROR NEURONS: These neurons, located in the prefrontal cortex (area 44, Broca’s area) respond to self-induced actions, imagined action, and the observation of these actions in other individuals. It is thought that similar neurons may exist in the somatosensory, cognitive, and affective systems. It has been argued that these neurons serve as a mechanism for cognitive empathy of other individuals’ physical, cognitive, and emotional state.

AUTISM: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by a number of impairments including a lack of social empathy, a lack of understanding of other’s thoughts and facial expressions, a delayed or complete absence of communication skills, difficulty with imagination, and difficulty with social interaction.  Though many theories exist on the neurological basis of this enigmatic disorder, the exact cause is largely unknown.  My research interest lies in using imaging and electrophysiological techniques (such as EEG, fMRI, and TMS) to investigate neural circuits whose dysfunction may account for the behavioral pathology seen in Autism.

Relevant Publications

Oberman, L.M. & Ramachandran, V.S. (in press) Reflections on the Mirror Neuron System: Their Evolutionary Functions Beyond Motor Representation.  Invited submission to J. Pineda (Ed.) Role of Mirroring in Social Cognition. Totowa, New Jersey : Humana Press.  

Oberman, L.M., Winkielman, P., Ramachandran, V.S. (2007) Face to Face:  Blocking facial muscles selectively impairs recognition of emotional faces.  Invited submission to special issue of Social Neuroscience on Interpersonal Sensitivity.

Oberman, L.M., McCleery, J.P, Ramachandran, V.S., Pineda, J.A. (2007).  EEG evidence for mirror neuron activity during the observation of human and robot actions: Toward an analysis of the human qualities of interactive robots. Neurocomputing, 70, 2194-2203.

Oberman, L.M., Pineda, J.A. & Ramachandran, V.S. (2007) The Human Mirror Neuron System:  A Link Between Action Observation and Social Skills.  Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2, 62-66.

Oberman, L.M. & Ramachandran, V.S. (2007) The simulating social mind: The role of simulation in the social and communicative deficits of autism spectrum disorders, Psychological Bulletin, 133, 310-327.  

Ramachandran, V.S. & Oberman, L.M. (November, 2006; June 2007) Broken Mirrors: A Theory of Autism, Scientific American. 

Ramachandran, V.S. & Oberman, L.M. (May 13, 2006) Autism: The search for Steven, New Scientist 48-50.

Pineda, J.A & Oberman, L.M. (2006) What Goads Nicotine Addicts to Smoke?  Brain Research,1121, 128-135.

Oberman, L.M., Hubbard, E.M., McCleery, J.P., Altschuler, E.L., Ramachandran, V.S., Pineda, J.A. (2005). EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in autism.  Cognitive Brain Research, 24, 190-198.

Link to NIH Formatted CV