Neurology

Jennifer J. Vannest, PhD

Appointment

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology

Email

jennifer.vannest@cchmc.org

Phone

513-636-4222

Bio

An Ohio native, Dr. Vannest completed her undergraduate education at the Ohio State University and continued there for her graduate work. Her PhD is in Linguistics, and in addition, her graduate training included a number of courses in Cognitive Psychology, Neuropsychology and Speech and Hearing Sciences. As a postdoctoral fellow at University of Michigan and University of Rochester, Dr. Vannest was trained to use functional MRI to study the brain mechanisms underlying language skill.

Dr. Vannest came to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in 2006, and her current research makes use of functional MRI to examine how epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders affect language function, ultimately leading to better treatment and educational strategies for children with these disorders.

Credentials

PhD: Ohio State University, Linguistics.

Postdoctoral Training: University of Michigan (Psychology), University of Rochester (Brain and Cognitive Sciences).

Research

Language is one of the most complex abilities that humans possess: it involves the production and comprehension of a very specific set of sounds, the recognition and memorization of thousands of words and the ability to use and comprehend these words in a particular pattern that conveys meaning. My research interests lie in investigating the brain mechanisms that underlie humans' ability to learn and use language.

Specifically, I am interested in our ability to use "rules" of language (for example, we know to add -ed to make the past tense of a verb, or we know to begin a sentence with the subject and follow that with a verb). Often, using rules is impaired in people with language disorders, so understanding how this mechanism works in the brain may be able to help our therapies for these individuals.

Research Grants and Contracts

Jerome Lejeune Foundation: The neural basis of language in neurodevelopmental disorders, June 2007, Principal Investigator.

Publications, Most Recent

Vannest J, Polk TA, Lewis RL: Dual-Route Processing of Complex Words: New fMRI Evidence from Derivational Suffixation.Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 2005; 5(1), 67-76.

Professional Organization Memberships

Special Interests

Cognitive Neuroscience of Language and Memory (using Functional MRI), Cognitive effects of Epilepsy and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Presentations, Most Recent

Vannest J, Holland SK, Privitera MD, Schefft BK, Szaflarski JP. fMRI activation in medial temporal areas reflects memory lateralization and memory performance in epilepsy patients. Presented at the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Chicago, IL, 2007.

Vannest J, Karunanayaka P, Altaye M, Schmithorst V, Plante E, Eaton K, Holland SK. Comparison between event-related and block-periodic fMRI data from a story processing task in children. Presented at the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Chicago, IL.

Wang Y, Xiang J, Liu Y, Vannest J, Rose D, DeGrauw, T. Neuromagnetic differences in processing of open- and closed-class words in the brain: A magnetoencephalographic study. Presented at the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Chicago, IL, 2007.

Vannest J, Newport EL, Bavelier D. The Neural Basis of Frequency Effects for Inflected and Uninflected Verbs: an Event-Related fMRI Study. Presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, New York, NY, 2007.

Gill DJ, Vannest J, Cruttenden K, Gaugh M, Zhong J, Schifitto G. fMRI analysis of working memory and executive function in HIV-positive individuals. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, 2006.

Vannest J, Newman AJ, Newport EL, Bavelier D. Frequency and Morphological Structure in Processing Complex Words: An Event-Related fMRI study. Presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco, CA, 2006.

Vannest J, Newman AJ, Newport EL, Bavelier D: Neural Coorelates of Processing of English Inflected Verbs. Presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, New York, 2005.