Biography
Dr. Veronica B. Perez is the Director of the Treatment and Assessment of Cognitive Effectiveness (TRACE) Lab. The aim of her work is 1) to trace the neurocognitive deficits that occur in serious mental illness (SMI), 2) to understand how these deficits may predict the clinical presentation in individuals with co-morbid illnesses, 3) to improve the efficacy of interventions that reduce stigma against individuals with mental illnesses, and 4) to repair the neurocognitive domains that most deleteriously pervade the lives of those suffering with mental illness. Dr. Perez trains doctoral-level graduate students in intact and impaired cognitive systems to investigate functional outcomes in clinical populations like schizophrenia and OCD.
Professional Interests
- Neurocognitive impairments in psychosis and schizophrenia
- Biomarkers of severe psychopathology
- Pathophysiology of cognition in patients with psychosis or at high-risk for psychosis
- Neurophysiological response to cognitive interventions
Education and Certifications
- Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences, Ithaca, NY - Degree: B.A. in Psychology, May 1998
- Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Symptoms and Course of Schizophrenia. This grant will examine the basic and clinical mechanisms of psychotic illnesses to gain an understanding of neurocognitive and perceptual impairment. PI: Judith M. Ford, Ph.D. Role: Postdoctoral Fellow
- San Diego State University, San Diego, CA - Degree: M.A. in Psychology, May 2003
- University of Oregon, Eugene, OR - Degree: Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, May 2008
- Schizophrenia Psychosocial CBT Intern
- University of California, San Diego/VA San Diego Healthcare System - APA-Accredited Internship, Clinical Psychology, July 2008 - June 2009
Honors
- 2013 Clinical & Translational Research Institute, UC San Diego Health Sciences Pilot Grant
This grant will support the establishment of an academic-community partnership to apply cognitive neuroscience methodology in a community setting. Data examining targeted cognitive training (TCT) interventions in the initial stages of neuroplasticity-based skills acquisition will be collected at a mental health and transitional care facility. Role: PI - 2013 MIRECC Veterans' Administration (VA) Pilot Grant
This grant will support collection of pilot data examining targeted cognitive training (TCT) interventions in the initial stages of neuroplasticity-based skills acquisition. Role: PI - 2012 Veterans' Administration (VA) Institutional Training Grant
This institutional training grant will train a new generation of neuroscientists to improve the long-term functional outcome of patients with chronic psychotic mental disorders, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and psychotic mood disorders. Role: Research Fellow - 2007 This grant will support the planning and development of a summer workshop to teach issues of diversity within the Department of Psychology at University of Oregon.
Role: Committee Member - 2009 Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR)
Courses
Dr. Perez teaches doctoral-level courses including Advanced Psychopathology (based on DSM-5 classifications with reference to DSM-IV and ICD-10 coding), Clinical Ethics and Consultation, and Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior. She also teaches special interest topics such as Applications of Clinical Neurophysiology, and Neuropsychology: Foundations. She aims to further the understanding of cognitive and physiological abnormalities in clinical populations to improve diagnostic accuracy and to parallel the RDoC framework.
Scholarship and Contributions to the Field
- Nemanim, N., Roth, A., Angelini, S., Hansen, G. & Perez, VB. (November 2024). Neuropsychiatric Determinants of Cognitive Complaints Following COVID-19: A Comparative Study. Presented at the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) Annual Conference.
- Garmon, E., Nemanim, N., Roth, A., Angelini, S., Hansen, G. & Perez, VB. (October 2024). Ethnoracial differences in the role of fatigue, anxiety, depression, and stress (FADS) on executive functioning and information processing following COVID-19. Presented at the Society of Research on Psychopathology (SRP) Annual Conference.
- Carson, B. & Perez, VB. (October 2024). Predictive mechanisms of psychosis spectrum symptoms in sexual and gender minorities. Presented at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Conference.
- Hansen, G. & Perez, VB. (October 2024). Stigma against patients with psychosis by mental health service providers: Examining social cognition as an explanatory mechanism. Presented at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Conference.
- Roth, A. & Perez, VB. (October 2024). Unlocking the Mind: Exploring Neurocognitive Pathways in Parents of Children Affected with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Presented at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Conference.
- Smith, M.A. & Perez, VB. (October 2024). Predictors of Prolonged Duration of Untreated Illness in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Mechanisms of Shame, Alcohol Use, and Inhibitory Control. Presented at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Annual Convention.
- Pezeshkian, M., Raver, R., Gevirtz, R., McClain, C., Roth, A., & Perez, VB. (September 2024). Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and social cognitive predictors of functional outcomes in individuals with psychotic-like experiences. Presented at the California Psychological Association (CPA) Annual Conference.
PUBLICATIONS Under Review
- Raver (Horseman), R.L., Gevirtz, R., Roth, A. & Perez, VB. (under review). Moderating effects of emotion processing on heartrate variability (HRV) on functional outcomes in individuals on the psychosis spectrum.
- Celaya, R.C., Moore, R.D., Lincoln, A. & Perez, VB. (under review). Examining mechanisms of verbal working memory capacity in monolingual Spanish speakers of Latin American descent.
PUBLICATIONS (selected)
- Carey, C., Horseman, R. L., Challman, K., & Perez, V. B. (February, 2021). Current Insights in Neurocognition. Newsletter published by the Treatment and Assessment of Cognitive Effectiveness (TRACE) Club.
- Perez, V.B., Miyakoto, M., Makeig, S.R. & Light, G.A. (2019). Mismatch negativity reveals plasticity in cortical dynamics after 1-hour of auditory training exercises. Int J Psychophysiology.
Perez, V.B., Ford, J.M, Roach, B.J., Woods, S.W., McGlashan, T.H., Srihari, V.H. & Mathalon, D.H. (2014). Mismatch negativity abnormalities in schizophrenia: Forecasting psychosis with automatic auditory processing dysfunction. Biological Psychiatry, 75, 459-69. - *Matthews, C., *Perez, V.B., Roach, B.J., Fekri, S., Vigil, O., Kupferman, E. & Mathalon, D.H. (2016). Error-related brain activity dissociates hoarding disorder from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychological Medicine, 46, 367- 79.
- Perez, V.B., Ford, J.M, Woods, S.W., McGlashan, T.H., Roach, B.J., Srihari, V.H., Loewy, R.L., Vinogradov, S. & Mathalon, D.H. (2011). Error monitoring dysfunction across the illness course of schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121, 372-87.
- Perez, V.B. & Vogel, E.K. (2010). Contralateral delay activity as an index of visual working memory capacity. In S.J. Luck & E. Kappenman (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Event-Related Potential Components (pp. 361-372). "