Research in the area of health disparities aims to study the causes of, and reduce the prevalence of, the unequal effects of certain social, mental and physical health challenges upon vulnerable populations. Among the many factors that are studied are race, age, HIV, mental illness, education, and socioeconomic status.

In the current era of effective HIV prevention and treatment tools, treatment adherence has become of utmost importance. Psycho-social factors such as stigma, social support, and mental health not only affect the emotional well-being of people living with HIV, they are also among the most important determinants of adherence to treatment. The interplay between chronic pain and HIV infection is also a rich area of inquiry for our research.

The study of mental and neural mechanisms of comprehension and production of language. A major focus of Language research is on individual differences in language ability, particularly neurodevelopmental and acquired language deficits such as aphasia and autism spectrum disorders. Research areas include the organization of semantic knowledge, the neural basis of language processing, narrative comprehension and pragmatic communication, reading comprehension, and the diagnosis and treatment of language deficits.

The study of neural structure and function includes the organization, connectivity, plasticity, and neurochemistry of the billions of neurons that compose the central nervous system. Research in this area focuses on the functional organization of neural systems for high-level functions such as perception, action, emotion, and cognition. We also study how pharmacological and electrical modulation of these systems affects their function.

Neurodevelopmental Disabilities are developmental difficulties or challenges that children and their families may encounter during the child’s developmental period from birth through adolescence. These disabilities may affect their problem solving, memory, social-emotional, language and/or motor abilities. Examples of such disabilities include, but are not limited to, Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, as well as many genetic disorders that affect development.

Diet has a major effect on health. Dr. Sorge uses human patients and preclinical animal models to investigate the impact of diet and eating patterns on obesity, eating disorders, neural responses, inflammation, and immune system activation. His work is directed at using diet to promote better health and to treat/understand eating disorders. He is a member of UAB’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center.

Four of our faculty form the PAIN Collective which aims to study and discover methods of relieving and managing chronic pain through both basic and clinical research. This area of study has been of particular concern in recent years due to the opioid abuse crisis and the aging population.

The term psychophysiology refers to research that links psychological and physiological processes. For example, we study the effects of psychosocial stress on the physiological stress response, as measured by skin conductance, release of cortisol, and changes in blood pressure and heart rate.

Rehabilitation aims to restore function to people with physical or cognitive disabilities due to an injury to the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, or chronic illness. Psychologists study cognitive, behavioral, and affective factors, as well as characteristics of the nervous system, that contribute to the development and amelioration of disabilities. Areas of study in our Department include neuroplasticity, behavioral factors that contribute to physical disabilities and their rehabilitation, the application of virtual reality to rehabilitation, back pain, mobility limitations, visual attention, and speed of processing. Conditions of interest include stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, aphasia, and mild cognitive impairment.

Psychological science can have major impact on transportation safety and injury prevention. Our faculty are involved both in understanding psychological risk factors for injury and in developing prevention strategies. Some of the many areas of safety research that our faculty study are pedestrian safety, driving safety, car seat installation, gun safety, dog bites, vision, aging, and parental and teacher supervision of children. We also have been at the forefront in understanding psychological factors associated with pedestrians and drivers who are distracted by devices like cellular phones. Our faculty are among the world’s leading experts in both teen driving and driving among elderly populations, and our faculty have the privilege of working with cutting-edge technology such as our full-sized SUV-based driving simulator and the UAB Youth Safety Lab’s virtual pedestrian environment.

Some of our faculty are engaged in basic and applied vision research, including the topics of retinal anatomy and function, glaucoma, age-related diseases such as macular degeneration, the effects of CNS diseases such as Parkinson’s, neural prosthesis and sensory substitution aids, driving safety, brain training, and many other topics.