Functional Neurological Disorder Research Group

Overview

The Functional Neurological Disorder Research Group uses advanced structural and functional brain magnetic resonance imaging techniques to study the biological basis of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and related conditions.

Patients with FND experience symptoms that are common yet incompletely understood. Common presentations of FND include functional (dissociative) seizures, functional movement/motor disorder, functional speech difficulties, functional cognitive disorder, and persistent postural perceptual dizziness.

The mission of the Functional Neurological Disorder Research Group at Mass General Brigham, working in collaboration with researchers at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and others within the Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School hospital community, is to characterize structural and functional brain network abnormalities in FND that specifically relate to symptom severity, risk factors, and treatment response. Complementary studies examine peripheral physiological measures, while longitudinal studies also aim to probe brain mechanisms of treatment response. The group also studies individual differences and clinical heterogeneity in FND, as well as its overlap with other neurological and psychiatric disorders.

David Perez, MD, MMSc, is a dual-trained Neurologist-Psychiatrist and Cognitive-Affective Neuroscientist. Dr. Perez is the founding director of the MGH FND Research Group and FND Unit, Chief of the Mass General Brigham Division of Behavioral Neurology, and Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Research Projects

Defining the Neurobiology of Functional Neurological Disorder and Related Conditions

This study uses structural and functional neuroimaging techniques, in conjunction with self-report questionnaires and peripheral physiological measurements, to study brain-symptom, brain-disease risk, and brain-outcome relationships in patients with functional seizures, functional movement/motor disorder, functional speech disorder, and related conditions. Currently, we are only recruiting from individuals that have previously been evaluated in our Functional Neurological Disorder Unit clinical program.

Cristina Bleier, MD
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow; Department of Neurology

Sara Finkelstein, MD, MSc
Co-Investigator; Assistant Professor of Neurology

Jennifer Freeburn, BA, MA
Co-Investigator; Speech Language Pathologist

Ellen Godena, EdM, MSW, LICSW
Co-Investigator; Social Worker/Psychotherapist

Julie MacLean, OTR/L
Co-Investigator; Neuro-Occupational Therapist

Julie Maggio, PT
Co-Investigator; Neuro-Physical Therapist

Jessica Ranford, MS, OTR/L
Co-Investigator; Neuro-Occupational Therapist

Alumni:

Priyanka Alluri, BA
Former Research Assistant

Isabelle Gilman
Former Summer Research Student

Alexa Goldstein
Former Undergraduate Research Student

Andrew Guthrie, BS
Former Research Assistant

Rozita Jalilianhasanpour, MD
Former Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Johannes Jungilligens, PhD
Former Visting Post-Doctoral Researcher

Julie King
Former Summer Research Student

Anna Larson, BS
Former Research Assistant

Sara J. Makaretz
Former Research Assistant

Nassim Matin, MD, MPH
Former Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Vihang Nakhate
Former Summer Research Student

Juan Pablo Ospina Botero, MD
Former Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Sara Paredes Echeverri, MD
Former Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

Aneeta Saxena, MD
Former Co-Investigator

Benjamin Williams, BS
Former Research Assistant

Publications

View publications

Recent Press Releases and Other Press

• https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/functional-neurological-disorder-reframed

Open Positions

We welcome researchers and health professionals interested in the work of the FND Research Group to email Dr. Perez [dlperez@mgb.org] to inquire about potential job openings and other collaborative opportunities.