Ashley C Parr, PhD

Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Areas of Expertise

  • Children & Adolescents
  • Substance Use Disorders
Ashley C Parr, PhD
Expertise & Interests Selected Publications Education & Credentials Related News

Expertise & Interests

Research Interests

Developmental neuroscience; Dopamine development; Trajectories in health-risk behavior

Selected Publications

  1. Parr AC, Perica MI, Calabro F, Foran W, Moon CH, Hetherington H, Luna B. Adolescent maturation of prefrontal cortex glutamate: GABA and cognitive function is supported by dopamine-related neurobiology. Mol. Psychiatry. 2024 Dec 09. PMID: 39653761.
  2. Parr AC, Sydnor VJ, Calabro FC, Luna B. Adolescent-to-adult gains in cognitive flexibility are adaptively supported by reward processing, exploration, and neural variability. Invited Short Review. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 2024 May 10; 58. PMID: 38826569.
  3. Tervo-Clemmens B, Calabro F, Parr AC, Fedor J, Foran W, Luna B. A canonical trajectory of executive function maturation during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Nat. Commun. 2023 Oct 30; 14. PMID: 3793830.
  4. Parr AC, Calabro F, Tervo-Clemmens B, Larsen B, Foran W, Luna B. Contributions of dopamine-related basal ganglia neurophysiology to the developmental effects of incentives on inhibitory control. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 2022 Mar 17; 54. PMID: 35344773.
  5. Parr AC, Calabro F, Larsen B, Tervo-Clemmens B, Foran W, Olafsson V, Luna B. Dopamine-related striatal neurophysiology is associated with specialization of frontostriatal reward circuitry through adolescence. Prog. Neurobiol. 2021 Mar 02; 201. PMID: 33667595.
  6. Parr AC, Ojha A, Petrie DJ, Calabro FJ, Tervo-Clemmens B, Foran W, Fitzgerald D, Tapert SF, Nooner K, Thompson W, Goldston DB, Clark D, Luna B. Developmental variation in basal ganglia tissue iron, neurocognitive functioning, and impulsivity is associated with substance use trajectories in youth. Nat. Commun. 2026 June 11; 17: 4861. PMID: 42277040.
  7. Cascone AD, Calabro F, Foran W, Larsen B, Nugiel T, Parr AC, Tervo-Clemmens B, Luna B, Cohen JR. Brain tissue iron neurophysiology and its relationship with the cognitive effects of dopaminergic modulation due to receipt of rewards or administration of methylphenidate in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 2023 Jul 07; 63. PMID: 37453207.
  8. Parr AC, Riek H, Coe B, Pari G, Masellis M, Marras C, Munoz D. Genetic variation in the dopamine system is associated with mixed-strategy decision-making in patients with Parkinsons disease. Eur. J. Neurosci. 2022 Nov 30; 58(12):4523-4544. PMID: 36453013.
  9. Blazer A, Chengappa KNR, Foran W, Parr AC, Kahn DC, Luna B, Sarpal D. Changes in corticostriatal connectivity and striatal tissue iron associated with Clozapine efficacy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Psychopharmacology. 2022 Apr 18; 239(8): 2503-2514. PMID: 35435461.
  10. Parr AC, Calancie O, Coe B, Khan S, Munoz D. Impulsivity and emotional dysregulation predict choice behavior during a mixed-strategy game in adolescents with borderline personality disorder. Front. Neurosci.: Decision Neuroscience. 2022 Feb 13; 15. PMID: 35237117.

Education & Credentials

Education & Training

Education
PhD, Neuroscience (Neuroeconomics), Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Postdoctoral
Developmental Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, Society for Neuroscience
  • Member, Flux: The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Member, Organization for Human Brain Mapping
  • Member, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition

Selected Honors & Awards

  • Young Investigator Award, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

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