Research and Publications
Proud of my group of rising clinicians and scientists.
Overview
I am Associate Professor of Psychology and lead the 'Consciousness and Cognition' Group at the School of Psychology, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin.
A major focus of my group is the investigation of the functional brain organisation that supports human cognition and consciousness, and how this organisation breaks down in the disordered brain. My work combines psychological theory, neuroimaging, and research of brain-injured and anesthesized patients, and translates this knowledge to develop clinically applicable neuroimaging measures. Additionally, my work explores the medico-ethical and societal implications of such applications, to build ethical guidelines for their clinical use.
A second focus of my work is the investigation of early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease by combining neuroimaging, clinical, neuropsychological and physiological assessments. In the face of a global dementia pandemic, it is extremely important to understand the earliest cognitive/functional changes, and their underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms. This can lead to earlier diagnoses, potential targets for treatment, and better understanding of the disease itself. We carry out this work in collaboration with colleagues from Edinburgh, Cambridge and Oxford Universities (UK), within the PREVENT consortium.
Trinity College Dublin launches a new initiative in NeuroHumanities, aiming to stimulate public engagement and generate exciting research at the inter-disciplinary boundary between humanities and brain sciences.
Manuscripts in open access depositories (pre-prints) and under peer-review
Qi, Q., Deng, F., Ritchie, K., Muniz-Terrera, G., Koychev, I., Malhotra, P., O’Brien J., Ritchie, C. W., Lawlor, B., Naci, L.* (2023). Sex differences in the associations between risk for late-life AD, protective lifestyle factors and cognition in mid-life. medRxiv doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.09.23284340 Under Peer Review
Graham M, Rossor M, Lawlor B, Naci L*. Rethinking the Ethics of Informing Research Participants of Modifiable Dementia Risk Factors. Under Peer Review
Türker B, Owen AM, Naci L*, Sitt JD*. Processing of the same narrative stimuli elicits common functional connectivity dynamics between individuals. biorXiv. DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.25.517964 Under Peer Review
Stefaniak JD, Mak E, Su L, Cartera SF, Dounavi ME, Muniz Terrera G, Wells K, Ritchie K, Lawlor B, Naci L, Koychev I, Malhotra P, Ritchie CW, O’Brien JT. Brain age gap, dementia risk factors and cognition in middle age. Under Peer Review
Nemirovsky IE, Popiel NJM, Rudas J, Caius M, Naci L, Schiff ND, Owen, AM, Soddu A. A Novel Implementation of Integrated Information Theory in Resting-State fMRI. Under Review at Communications Biology 2023
Luppi AI, Hansen JY, Adapa R, Carhart-Harris RL, Roseman L, Timmermann C, Golkowski D, Ranft A, Ilg R, Jordan D, Bonhomme V, Vanhaudenhuyse A, Demertzi A, Jaquet O, Bahri MA, Alnagger NLN, Cardone P, Peattie ARD, Manktelow AE, de Araujo DB, Sensi SL, Owen AM, Naci L, Menon DK, Misic B, Stamatakis EA. Mapping Pharmacologically-induced Functional Reorganisation onto the Brain’s Neurotransmitter Landscape. biorXiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.12.499688 Under Peer Review
Andrea I. Luppi, Helena M. Gellersen, Alex R. D. Peattie, Anne E. Manktelow, Ram Adapa, Adrian M. Owen, Lorina Naci, David K. Menon, Stavros I. Dimitriadis, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis. Converging on consistent functional connectomics. Under Peer Review
Feng Deng, Maria-Eleni Douvani, Karen Ritchie, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Paresh Malhotra, Craig W Ritchie, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci*. Disrupted role of the connectivity between the locus coeruleus and the hippocampus in cognition of healthy, middle-aged individuals at risk of dementia. medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.09.02.22279541 Under Peer Review
Dounavi, Maria-Eleni; Mak, Elijah; Swann, Peter; Low, Audrey; Muniz Terrera, Graciela; McKeever, Anna; Pope, Marianna; Williams, Guy; Wells, Katie; Lawlor, Brain; Naci, Lorina; Malhotra, Paresh; Mackay, Clare; Koychev, Ivan; Ritchie, Karen; Su, Li; Ritchie, Craig; O'Brien, John. Differential association of cerebral blood flow and anisocytosis in APOE ε4 carriers at midlife Under Peer Review.
Elijah Mak, Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Grégory Operto, Elina T. Ziukelis, Coco Newton, Graciela-Terrera Muniz, Paresh Malhotra, Ivan Koychev, Clare Mackay, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Katie Wells, Karen Ritchie, Li Su, Craig Ritchie, Juan Domingo Gispert, John T O’Brien. APOE ε4 accelerates age-related loss of cortical microstructure: The ALFA and PREVENT multi-cohort study. Under peer review
Luppi AI, Mediano PAM, Rosas FE, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Carhart-Harris RL, Williams GB, Craig MM, Finoia P, Owen A, Naci L, Menon D, Bor D, Stamatakis EA. A Synergistic Workspace for Human Consciousness Revealed by Integrated Information Decomposition. biorXiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.25.398081 Under Peer Review
* = Corresponding/Senior
Peer-reviewed manuscripts
* = Corresponding/Senior
2022
Heneghan A, Deng F, Wells K, Ritchie K, Muniz-Terrera G, Ritchie CW, Lawlor B, Naci L*. (2022) Modifiable lifestyle activities affect cognition in cognitively healthy middle-aged individuals at risk for late-life Alzheimer's Disease. medRxiv Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. DOI: 10.3233/JAD-220267. Download
Low A, Prats-Sedano MA, McKiernan E, Carter SF, Stefaniak JD, Nannoni S, Su L, Dounavi M, Muniz-Terrera G, Ritchie K, Lawlor B, Naci L, Malhotra P, Mackay C, Koychev I, Ritchie CW, Markus HS, O’Brien JT (2022) Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors of dementia on midlife cerebral small vessel disease in cognitively healthy middle-aged adults: the PREVENT-Dementia study. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy 14:154. Download.
Coppola P, Spindler LRB, Adapa R, Finoia P, Williams GB, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Owen AM, Naci L, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. (2022) The complexity of the stream of consciousness. Communications Biology 5, Article number: 1173. Download.
Hu H, Cusack R, Naci L*. (2022) Typical and disrupted brain circuitry for conscious awareness in full-term and preterm infants. Brain Communications. Volume 4, Issue 2. Online first
Naci L*, Owen AM. Uncovering consciousness and revealing the preservation of mental life in unresponsive brain-injured patients. Seminars in Neurology. DOI: 10.1055/a-1892-1715. Download
Graham M. Farina F, Ritchie C, Lawlor B, Naci L*. (2022) Fear of dementia and public sharing of research results. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. 31: 4, 498–505. Download.
Coppola P, Spindler LRB, Adapa R, Finoia P, Williams GB, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Owen AM, Naci L, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. (2022) Network dynamics scale with levels of awareness. NeuroImage. 254:119128. Download.
AI Luppi, PAM Mediano, FE Rosas, J Allanson, JD Pickard, GB Williams, MM Craig, P Finoia, ARD Peattie, P Coppola, AM Owen, L Naci, DK Menon, D Bor, EA Stamatakis. (2022). Whole-brain modelling identifies distinct but convergent paths to unconsciousness in anaesthesia and disorders of consciousness. Communications Biology. 5(1):384. Download.
Dounavi ME, Newton C, Jenkins N, Mak E, Low A, Muniz-Terrera G, Williams GB, Lawlor B, Naci L, Malhotra P, Mackay C, Koychev I, Ritchie K, Ritchie Cw, Su L, O’ Brien JT. Macrostructural brain alterations at midlife are connected to cardiovascular and not inherited risk of future dementia: The PREVENT-Dementia study. Journal of Neurology. Online first.
Fogel S, Ray L, Fang Z, Silverbrook M, Naci L, Owen AM. While you were sleeping: Evidence for high-level executive processing of an auditory narrative during sleep. Consciousness and Cognition. Volume 100, April 2022, 103306
2021
Huntley J, Fleming SM, Mograbi DC, Bor D, Naci L, Owen AM, Howard R. (2021) Understanding Alzheimer’s disease as a disorder of consciousness. Translational Research and Clinical Interventions. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2021;7:e12203. Download
Mackenzie G, Naci L*. (2021) Well-Being After Severe Brain Injury: What Counts as Good Recovery? Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 31(2), October 2021. View
Sean Coulborn, Chris Taylor, Lorina Naci, Adrian M Owen, Davinia Fernández-Espejo (2021). Disruptions in effective connectivity within and between default mode network and anterior forebrain mesocircuit in prolonged disorders of consciousness. Brain Sciences, 11(6), 749. Download
2020
Luppi AI, Mediano PAM, Rosas FE, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Carhart-Harris RL, Williams GB, Craig MM, Finoia P, Owen A, Naci L, Menon D, Bor D, Stamatakis EA. A Synergistic Workspace for Human Consciousness Revealed by Integrated Information Decomposition. bioRxiv
Varley T, Luppi A, Pappas I, Naci L, Adapa R, Owen AO, Menon D, Stamatakis E. (2020) Consciousness and Brain Functional Complexity in Propofol Anaesthesia. Sci Rep. 23;10(1):1018. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-57695-3. Download
Taylor N, Graham M, Delargy M, Naci L* (2020) Memory During the Presumed Vegetative State: Implications for Patient Quality of Life. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. "Clinical Neuroethics” issue, Vol 29, No. 4, October, 2020. Online First, Download In press.
Kandeepana S, Rudasb J, Gomez F, Stojanoski B, Valluria S, Owen AM, Naci L, Nichols ES, Soddu A. Modeling an Auditory Stimulated Brain Under Altered States of Consciousness using the Generalized Ising Model. NeuroImage Online First Download. in Press.
2019
Tung J, Peterson A, Mackenzie G, Naci L, Speechley K, Weijer C. Towards the Assessment of Quality of Life in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness (2019). Quality of Life Research. 29, pages1217–1227 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02390-8 Download
Luppi AI, Craig MM, Pappas I, Finoia P, Williams GB, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Owen AM, Naci L, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. Consciousness-specific dynamic interactions of brain integration and functional diversity. Nature Communications 10, Article number: 4616 (2019). Download
Graham M, Wallace E, Doherty C, McCann A, Naci L* (2019) From Awareness to Prognosis: Ethical Implications of Uncovering Hidden Awareness in Behaviorally Nonresponsive Patients. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. (Special Issue 4, Clinical Neuroethics) Vol 28, pp. 616-631. Download
Accompanied by independent commentary by James L. Barnat (2019). “Further Considerations in Using Functional Neuroimaging in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness” Neuroethics, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. Special Issue 4, Clinical Neuroethics) Vol 28, pp. 632-634. Download
2018
Irwin K, Sexton C, Daniel T, Lawlor B, Naci L*. (2018) Healthy Aging and Dementia: Two Roads Diverging in Midlife? Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00275 Read
Naci L*, Haugg A., MacDonald A., Anello M., Houldin E., Naqshbandi S., Gonzalez-Lara LE., Arango M., Harle C., Cusack R., Owen AM. (2018) Functional diversity of brain networks supports consciousness and verbal intelligence. Scientific Reports 8, Article No. 13259 Read
Graham, M., Doherty C. P., Naci, L.* (2018) Using neuroimaging to detect covert awareness and determine prognosis of comatose patients: informing surrogate decision-makers of individual patient results. Seminars in Neurology.38(5):555-560.Download
Haugg A., Cusack R., Gonzales-Lara L., Sorger B., Owen A.M., Naci L* (2018) Do patients thought to lack consciousness retain the capacity for internal as well external awareness? Frontiers in Neurology. 9: 492. Download
Graham, M., Owen, A. M., Weijer, C. Naci, L.* (2018). Using neuroimaging to uncover awareness in brain-injured and anesthetized patients. Frontiers in Bioscience 10:337-349. Download
2017
Graham, M., Owen, A. M., Cipi, K. Weijer, C. Naci, L.* (2017) Minimizing the harm of accidental awareness under general anesthesia. Lessons from patients misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state. Sep 14. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000002495.
Anesthesia and Analgesia. [Epub ahead of print] Download
Naci, L*, Sinai, L, Owen, A. M. (2017) Detecting and interpreting conscious experiences in behaviorally non-responsive patients. NeuroImage. 145(Pt B):304-313. Download.
Sinai L., Owen AM, Naci L*. (2017) Mapping preserved real-world cognition in brain-injured patients. Frontiers in Bioscience. 22:815-823. Download
Abdalmalak A., Milej D., Diop M., Shokouhi M., Naci L., Owen A.M., Lawrence K. St.(2017) Can time-resolved NIRS provide the sensitivity to detect brain activity during motor imagery consistently? Biomedical Optics Express. Vol. 8, Issue 4, pp. 2162-2172.
Gibson, R. M., Chennu, S., Fernández-Espejo, D., Naci. L., Owen, A. M, Cruse, D. (2017) Reply to “Is command following unrelated to top-down attention in consciousness disorders?” Annals of Neurology. 81(1):160-161.
2016
Naci, L*, Graham*, M, Owen, A. M. Weijer, C. (2016) Covert narrative capacity: A cross-section of the preserved mental life in patients thought to lack consciousness. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. 1:61–70. * These authors contributed equally. Selected for written and audio review is Practical Reviews in Neurology. Download
Gibson, R. M., Chennu, S., Fernández-Espejo, D., Naci. L., Owen, A. M, Cruse, D. (2016) Somatosensory attention identifies both overt and covert awareness in disorders of consciousness. Annals of Neurology. 80(3):412-23.
Owen, A. M., Naci, L. (2016) Decoding thoughts in behaviourally non-responsive patients. In Sinnott-Armstrong (Ed). Finding Consciousness. Oxford University Press.
2015
Peterson, A., Cruse, D., Naci, L., Weijer, L., Owen, M. A. (2015) Risk, Diagnostic Error, and The Clinical Science of Consciousness. NeuroImage: Clinical. 7: 588–597. Download
Naci, L*, Taylor, K. I., Cusack, I., Tyler, L. K. (2015) Are the senses enough for sense? Early high-level feedback shapes our comprehension of multisensory objects. In S. Zhuanghua and H. J. Müller (Eds.) Multisensory perception and action: psychophysics, neural mechanisms, and applications. eBook. Frontiers Research Topics.
Graham, M., Weijer, C., Cruse, D.,Fernandez-Espejo, D., Gofton, T., Gonzalez-Lara, L., Lazosky, A., Naci, L., Norton, L., Peterson, A., Speechley, N. K., Young,B.,, Owen, M. A. (2015) An Ethics of Welfare for Patients Diagnosed as Vegetative With Covert Awareness. AJOB Neuroscience. 6(2), 31–41.
MacDonald, A., Naci, L., MacDonald, P., Owen, A. M. (2015) Anesthesia and neuroimaging: Investigating the neural correlates of unconsciousness. TICS. 19(2): 100–107. Download
2014
Naci, L*, Cusack, R., Anello, M., Owen, A. M. A common neural code for similar conscious experiences in different individuals. (2014) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2014;111(39):14277–82. Download. Featured on Macleans, Science, and Nature.
Owen, A. M., Naci, L* Decoding thoughts in disorders of consciousness. In M. Monti and W. G. Sannita (Eds.) Brain Function and Responsiveness in Severe Disorders of Consciousness.Springer. In Press.
Peterson, A., Norton, L., Naci, L., Owen, A. M., Weijer, C. (2014) Toward a Science of Brain Death. Am J Bioeth. 14(8):29-31. Download
Weijer, C., Peterson, P., Webster, F., Graham, M., Cruse, D., Fernández-Espejo, D., Gofton, T., Gonzalez-Lara, L. E., Lazosky, A., Naci, L., Norton, L., Speechley, K., Young B., Owen, A. M. (2014) Ethics of neuroimaging after serious brain injury. BMC Medical Ethics 15, 41. Download
Graham, M., Weijer, C., Peterson, A., Naci, L., Cruse, C., Fernández-Espejo, E., Owen, A. O. (2014) Acknowledging awareness: informing families of individual research results for patients in the vegetative state. J Med Ethics. Published Online First: [please include 30/07/2014] doi:10.1136/medethics-2014-102078. Download
2013
Naci, L*, Owen, A. M. Making every word count for vegetative patients. (2013) JAMA Neurology. 70(10), 1235-41. Download or Read it for free at the Journal of the American Medical Association. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE. Named one of Best 51 Discoveries at Western University Since 1878.
Guger, C., Noirhomme, Q., Naci, L., Real, R., Lugo, Z., Veser, S., Sorger, B., Quitadamo, L., Lesenfants, D., Risetti, M., Formisano, R., Toppi, J., Astolfi, L., Emmerling, T., Erlbeck, H., Monti, M. M., Kotchoubey, B., Bianchi, L., Mattia, D., Goebel,
R., Owen, A. M., Pellas, F., Müller-Putz, G., Kübler, A. Brain-computer interfaces for coma assessment and communication. Emerging Theory and Practice in Neuroprosthetics; ed. Ganesh R Naik, IGIGLOBAL Press 2013.
Naci, L*, Cusack, R., Jia, Z., V., Owen, M. A. (2013) The brain’s silent messenger – using selective attention to decode human thought for brain-based communication. J Neurosci 33(22), 9385–9393. Download. Featured on PSYCHOLOGY PROGRESS.
Peterson, A., Naci, L., Weijer, C., Owen A. M. (2013) A principled argument, but not a practical one. AJOB Neuroscience 4(1), 52–53. Download
Peterson, A., Naci, L., Cruse, C., Fernández-Espejo, E., Graham, M., Weijer, C., Owen, A. O. (2013) Assessing decision making capacity in the disorder of consciousness patient. AJOB Neuroscience 4(4), 3-14. Download
2012
Naci, L*, Monti, M. M., Cruse, D., Sorger, B., Rainer, G., A., Kotchoubey, B., Kubler. A, Owen, A. M. (2012) Brain-computer interfaces for communication with non-responsive patients. Ann Neurol 2012; 72(3), 312–23. Download
Naci, L*, Cusack, R., Taylor, K., Tyler, L. K. (2012) Are the senses enough for sense? Recurrent high-level feedback shapes our comprehension of multisensory objects. Front Integr Neurosci Download
Cusack, R., Veldsman, M., Naci, L., Mitchell, D. J., Linke, A. (2012) Seeing different objects in different ways: measuring ventral visual tuning to sensory and semantic features with dynamically adaptive imaging. Hum Brain Mapp 33(2), 387–97. Download
Pre-2012
Covington MA, He C, Brown C, Naci L, Brown J. (2006) How complex is that sentence? A proposed revision of the Rosenberg and Abbeduto D-Level Scale. Anatheum. Computer Analysis of Speech for Psychological Research. 1-17 Download
Covington, M., He, C., Brown, C., Naci, L., McClain, T., Fjordbak, B., Semple, J., Brown, J. Schizophrenia and the structure of language: The linguist’s view. Schizophrenia Research 2005; 77(1), 85–98.
Naci, L. Software to measure rambling, cognitive difficulty and degree expression in schizophrenic speech. (2004) Artificial Intelligence Center, University of Georgia.
2023
Deng F, Taylor N, Owen AM, Cusack R, Naci L*. Responsiveness variability during anaesthesia relates to inherent differences in brain structure and function of the fronto-parietal networks. Human Brain Mapping. Online first. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.26199
Jonathan Huntley, Daniel Bor, Stephen M Fleming, Marco Mancuso, Pedro A.M. Mediano, Lorina Naci, Adrian M Owen, Lorenzo Rocci, Avital Sternin, Robert Howard. Assessing awareness in severe Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. In Press. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.1035195/abstract