Beatriz Luna, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Bioengineering, Psychology, and Radiology, and Staunton Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry

Areas of Expertise

  • Substance Use Disorders
  • Children & Adolescents
Beatriz Luna, PhD
Expertise & Interests Selected Publications Education & Credentials Related News

Expertise & Interests

Research Interests

Dopaminergic neurodevelopment; GABA/glutamate neurodevelopment; Neurocognitive development

Education Interests

Postdoctoral fellow research mentorship; Graduate student research mentorship

Selected Publications

  1. Sydnor V, Ojha A, Larsen B, Martinez A, Calabro F, and Luna B. Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment. NPPR (in press).
  2. Parr AC, Perica MI, Calabro FJ, Foran W, Moon CH, Hetherington H, Luna B. Adolescent maturation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex glutamate:GABA and cognitive function is supported by dopamine-related neurobiology. Mol Psychiatry. 2025 Jun;30(6):2558-2572. doi:10.1038/s41380-024-02860-7. Epub 2024 Dec 9. PMID: 39653761.
  3. Calabro FJ, LeCroy D, Foran W, Sydnor VJ, Parr AC, Constantinidis C, Luna B. Developmental decorrelation of local cortical activity through adolescence supports high-dimensional encoding and working memory. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2025 Jun;73:101541. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101541. Epub 2025 Mar 4. PMCID: PMC11951985.
  4. McKeon SD, Perica MI, Calabro FJ, Foran W, Hetherington H, Moon CH, Luna B. Prefrontal excitation/inhibition balance supports adolescent enhancements in circuit signal to noise ratio. Prog Neurobiol. 2024 Dec;243:102695. doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2024.102695. Epub 2024 Nov 30. PMID: 39622336.
  5. Tervo-Clemmens B, Calabro FJ, Parr AC, Fedor J, Foran W, Luna B. A canonical trajectory of executive function maturation from adolescence to adulthood. Nat Commun. 2023 Oct 30;14(1):6922. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-42540-8. PMCID: PMC10616171.
  6. Calabro FJ, Parr AC, Sydnor VJ, Hetherington H, Prasad KM, Ibrahim TS, Sarpal DK, Famalette A, Verma P, Luna B. Leveraging ultra-high field (7T) MRI in psychiatric research. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Nov;50(1):85-102. doi:10.1038/s41386-024-01980-6. Epub 2024 Sep 9. Erratum in: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025 May;50(6):1019-1020. doi:10.1038/s41386-025-02087-2. PMCID: PMC11525672.
  7. Uhlhaas PJ, Davey CG, Mehta UM, Shah J, Torous J, Allen NB, Avenevoli S, Bella-Awusah T, Chanen A, Chen EYH, Correll CU, Do KQ,Fisher HL, Frangou S, Hickie IB, Keshavan MS, Konrad K, Lee FS, Liu CH, Luna B, McGorry PD, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Nordentoft M, ngr D, Patton GC, Paus T, Reininghaus U, Sawa A, Schoenbaum M, Schumann G, Srihari VH, Susser E, Verma SK, Woo TW, Yang LH, Yung AR, Wood SJ. Towards a youth mental health paradigm: A perspective and roadmap. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Aug;28(8):3171-3181. doi:10.1038/s41380-023-02202-z. Epub 2023 Aug 14. PMCID: PMC10618105.
  8. 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 in children with and without ADHD. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2023 Oct;63:101274. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101274. Epub 2023 Jul 7. PMCID: PMC10372187.
  9. Sonnenschein SF, Mayeli A, Yushmanov VE, Blazer A, Calabro FJ, Perica M, Foran W, Luna B, Hetherington HP, Ferrarelli F, Sarpal DK. A longitudinal investigation of GABA, glutamate, and glutamine across the insula during antipsychotic treatment of first-episode schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2022 Oct;248:98-106. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2022.08.008. Epub 2022 Aug 24. PMCID: PMC10018530.
  10. Perica MI, Luna B. Impact of stress on excitatory and inhibitory markers of adolescent cognitive critical period plasticity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023 Oct;153:105378. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105378. Epub 2023 Aug 27. PMCID: PMC10591935.

Education & Credentials

Education & Training

Education
PhD, Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Postdoctoral
Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh

Professional Affiliations

  • Founding President, Flux: The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Member, Society for Neuroscience
  • Member, Cognitive Neuroscience Society
  • Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Member, Society for Research in Child Development
  • Member, American Psychological Association

Selected Honors & Awards

  • Nancy Andreasan Lecturer Award, University of Iowa, Department of Psychiatry
  • Huttenlocher Lecturer Award, Flux Society
  • MERIT Award, National Institute of Mental Health
  • University of Pittsburgh Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring, University of Pittsburgh
  • Gallagher Lecture, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
  • Fellow, World Innovation Foundation

Related News