Nim Tottenham, PhD

Nim Tottenham, PhD

Research Interest

Human Cognition, Behavior and Neuroscience
Brain Imaging

Our research examines the neurobiology of affective development during childhood and adolescence. Affective development is incredibly protracted in the human, which provides us with an extended period of plasticity for learning from environmental cues. Our laboratory’s questions include a focus on the powerful influences of early social experiences. Using a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), laboratory-based behavior, and physiological methods, our research spans a wide developmental age range from infancy to adulthood to I) characterize developmental trajectories of human affective neurobiology (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, striatum, prefrontal cortex), II) understand how early social environments influence this neurobiology, and III) identify effects of early-life stress on the development of affective neurobiology. Our hypotheses about human development are influenced by both human and non-human animal literatures on affective development, and I have approached these aims by studying normative human development and development following exposure to early-life adversity.

  1. Callaghan*, B., Gasser*, C., Silvers, J., Vantieghem, M., Choy, T., O'Sullivan, K., Tompary, A., Davachi*, L., & Tottenham*, N. (in press) Age-related increases in posterior hippocampal granularity are associated with remote detailed episodic memory in development. Journal of Neuroscience.
  2. Silvers, J.A., Callaghan, B.L., VanTieghem, M., Choy, T., O’Sullivan, K., & Tottenham, N. (in press). An Exploration of Amygdala-Prefrontal Mechanisms in the Intergenerational Transmission of Learned Fear. Developmental Science. 
  3. VanTieghem, M., Korom, M., Flannery, J., Choy, T., Caldera, C., Humphreys, K.L., Gabard-Durnam, L., Goff, B., Gee, D.G., Telzer, E.H., Shapiro, M., Louie, J.Y., Fareri, D.S., Bolger, N., & Tottenham, N. (in press). Longitudinal changes in amygdala, hippocampus and cortisol development following early caregiving adversity. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
  4. Fields, A., Harmon, C., Lee, Z., Louie., J.Y., & Tottenham, N. (2021). Parent’s anxiety links household stress and young children’s behavioral dysregulation. Developmental Psychobiology 63, 16-30.
  5. Tottenham, N. (2020). Neural Meaning Making, Prediction, and mPFC-Subcortical Development following Early Adverse Caregiving. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 1563-1578.
  6. Opendak, M., Theisen, E., Blomkvist, A., Hollis, K., Lind, T., Sarro, E., Lundstrom, L., Tottenham, N., Dozier, M., Wilson, D., & Sullivan, R.M. (2020). Adverse caregiving in infancy blunts neural processing of the mother. Nature Communications, 11, 1119. PMC7384025
  7. Valadez, E.A., Tottenham, N., Tabachnick, A.R., & Dozier, M. (2020). Early Parenting Intervention Effects on Brain Responses to Maternal Cues Among High-Risk Children. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 818-826. PMC7384025
  8. Tottenham, N. (2020). Early Adversity and the Neotenous Human Brain. Biological Psychiatry, 87, 350-358. PMC6935437
  9. Tottenham, N., Shapiro, M., Caldera, C., Flannery, J., & Sullivan, R.M. (2019). Parental presence switches avoidance to attraction learning in children. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(10), 1070-1077.
  10. Callaghan, B., Meyer, H., Opendak, M., VanTieghem, M., Harmon, C., Li, A., Lee, F., Sullivan, R., Tottenham, N. (2019). The developmental ecology of fear neurobiology across development. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 15, 345-369.
  11. Callaghan, B., Gee, D.G., Gabard-Durnam, L., Telzer, E.H., Humphreys, K.L., Goff, B., Shapiro, M., Flannery, J., Lumian, D.S., Fareri, D.S., Caldera, C. & Tottenham, N. (2019). Decreased amygdala reactivity to parent cues protects against anxiety following early adversity: an examination across 3-years. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 15, 345-369. PMC6612442
  12. Flannery, J., Gabard-Durnam, L., Shapiro, M., Goff, B., Caldera, C., Louie, J., Gee, D.G., Telzer, E., Humphreys, K., Lumian, D, & Tottenham, N. (2017). Diurnal Cortisol after Early Institutional Care - Age Matters. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 25, 160-166. PMC5520669
  13. Silvers, J.A., Goff, B., Gabard-Durnam, L.J., Gee, D.G., Fareri, D.S., Caldera, C., & Tottenham, N. (2017). Vigilance, the Amygdala, and Anxiety in Youth with a History of Institutional Care. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 2, 493-501. PMCID: PMC5630141 
  14. Silvers, J.A., Lumian, D. Gabard-Durnam, L., Gee, D.G., Goff, B., Fareri, D., Caldera, C., Flannery, J., Telzer, E.H., Humphreys, K., & Tottenham, N. (2016) Previous institutionalization is followed by broader amygdala-hippocampal-PFC network connectivity during aversive learning in human development. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(24), 6420-6430. PMC5015779
  15. Gabard-Durnam, L.*, Gee, D.G*, Goff, B., Flannery, J., Telzer, E; Humphreys, K., Lumian, D; Fareri, DS; Caldera, C; Tottenham, N. (2016). Stimulus-elicited connectivity influences resting-state connectivity years later in human development: a prospective study. *authors contributed equally. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(17), 4771-4784. PMC4846673
  16. Callaghan, B. & Tottenham, N. (2016). The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis: Effects of early-life adversity on emotion circuits and behavior. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 7, 76–81. PMC5890821
  17. Callaghan, B. & Tottenham, N. (2016). The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A cross-species analysis of parental effects on emotion circuitry development following typical and adverse caregiving. Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, 41(1), 163-76. PMC4677125
  18. Fareri DS, Gabard-Durnam L, Goff B, Flannery J, Gee DG, Lumian DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N.  (2015) Normative development of ventral striatal resting state connectivity in humans.  Neuroimage. 118, 422-437. PMC5553607
  19. Humphreys, K. L., Lee, S. S., Telzer, E. H., Gabard-Durnam, L. J., Goff, B., Flannery, J., & Tottenham, N. (2015). Exploration--exploitation strategy is dependent on early experience. Developmental Psychobiology, 57(3), 313-321.
  20. Gee, D.G.*, Gabard-Durnam, L.*, Telzer, E.H., Humphreys, K.L., Goff, B., Shapiro, M., Flannery, J., Lumian, D.S., Fareri, D.S., Caldera, C., & Tottenham, N. (2014). Maternal buffering of human amygdala–prefrontal circuitry during childhood. Psychological Science, 25(11), 2067-2078. PMC4377225
  21. Gabard-Durnam, L., Flannery, J., Goff, B., Gee, D.G., Humphreys, K.L., Telzer, E.H., Hare, T.A., & Tottenham, N. (2014).  The development of human amygdala functional connectivity at rest from 4 to 23 Years: a cross-sectional study. Neuroimage, 95, 193-207. PMC4305511
  22. Gee, D.G., Gabard-Durnam, L., Flannery, J., Goff, B., Humphreys, K.L., Telzer, E.H., Hare, T.A., Bookheimer, S.Y., Tottenham, N. (2013). Early Developmental Emergence of Human Amygdala-PFC Connectivity after Maternal Deprivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(39):15638-15643. PMC3785723
  23. Malter-Cohen, M., Jing, D., Yang, R.R., Lee*, F.S., Tottenham*, N., & Casey*, BJ. (2013).  Early life stress has persistent effects on amygdala function and development in mice and humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(45), 18274-8. (*equal contributions) PMC3831447
  24. Olsavsky, A., Telzer, E.H., Shapiro, M., Humphreys, K.L., Flannery, J., Goff, B., & Tottenham, N. (2013). Indiscriminate amygdala response to mothers and strangers following early maternal deprivation. Biological Psychiatry, 74(11):853-860. PMC3818506
  25. Telzer, E.H., Flannery, J., Shapiro, M., Humphreys, K., Goff, B., Gabard-Durnam, L., Gee, D.G., & Tottenham, N. (2013). Early experience shapes amygdala sensitivity to race: An international adoption design. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(33) 13484-8. PMC3742934
  26. Gee, D.G., Humphreys, K.L., Flannery, J., Goff, B., Telzer, E.H., Shapiro, M., Hare, T.A., Bookheimer, S.Y., Tottenham, N. (2013).  A Developmental Shift from Positive to Negative Connectivity in Human Amygdala-Prefrontal Circuitry. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(10)4584-4593. PMC3670947
  27. Telzer, E.H., Humphreys, K., Shapiro, M., & Tottenham, N. (2013). Amygdala sensitivity to race is not present in childhood but emerges over adolescence. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 25(2), 234-244. PMC3628780
  28. Tottenham, N., Shapiro, M., Telzer, E., & Humphreys, K. (2012). Amygdala response to mother. Developmental Science, 15(3), 307-19.  PMC3522470
  29. Tottenham, N., Hare, T.A., Millner, A., Gilhooly, T.,  Zevin, J.D. & Casey, BJ (2011). Elevated Amygdala Response to Faces Following Early Deprivation. Developmental Science, 13(1), 46-61. PMC3050520
  30. Tottenham, N., Hare, T., Quinn, B., McCarry, T., Nurse, M.,  Gilhooly, T., Millner, A., Galvan, A., Davidson, M., Eigsti, I.M., Thomas, K.M., Freed, P., Booma, E.S., Gunnar, M., Altemus, M., & Aronson, J., Casey, B.J. (2010) Prolonged institutional rearing is associated with atypically larger amygdala volume and difficulties in emotion regulation. Developmental Science, 13 (1), 46-61. PMC2817950