igu09880@suffolk.edu

I completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, in Honolulu. I was lucky to gain clinical and research experience while working as a volunteer for a clinical neuropsychologist at the Hawaii State Hospital. This background continues to influence my current interests in the neuropsychology of addiction and schizophrenia. My Master’s Thesis explored relationships between prefrontal volume and aggression and impulsivity in psychiatric patients. Dr. Moes and I developed my dissertation topic, which draws on research in neuroscience and behavioral economics. Long-term I hope to work as a neuropsychologist and consult across disciplines to deliver services to diverse and underserved populations. Outside of academics, I love laughing and eating with my family, watching my nephew Dane grow, doing errands by bike, and taking a nap.

Dissertation

Olfaction and Decision Making in Substance Dependent Individuals

In light of evidence that addiction implicates brain systems involved in reward processing and hedonic dysregulation, olfaction is thought to be uniquely suited to explore relationships between emotional judgments and decision making - particularly in terms of shared neural substrates. This study may provide preliminary evidence to suggest olfactory function as a novel, non-invasive way of identifying how addicted individuals respond to uncertain or risky situations, or of elucidating neuropsychological mechanisms that influence addictive behaviors. In progress

Publications

2006 Polli FE, Barton JJS, Vangel M, Goff DC, Iguchi L, & Manoach DS (2006).  Schizophrenia patients show intact immediate error-related performance adjustments on an antisaccade task.  Schizophrenia Research, 82 (2-3), 191-201.

Presentations

2006 Iguchi L, Gansler DA, Fulwiler C , Van Dillen T, & Antonucci A.  Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex volume correlates with aggression and impulsivity.  Poster presented at the American Psychological Association’s 114th Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.  Clinical Neuropsychologist, 20(3), 568-574.

2005 Hardy S, Iguchi L.  Clinicians and Court Involved Youth Bridging Moral Transitions Together. Paper symposium presented at the Association for Moral Education’s 31st Annual Conference, Cambridge, MA.

2003 Fujii D, Likewise R, & Iguchi L (2003).  A comparison of WCST and WCST64 in a schizophrenic sample.  Poster presented at the Thirty-First Annual International Neuropsychological Society Conference, February 5– 8, 2003, Honolulu, Hawaii.  Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 135-330.