UCSF MC 0444
Mission Bay – Sandler Neurosciences Center
675 Nelson Rising Lane, Room 502
San Francisco, CA 94158
Joaquin grew up in San Diego, and in 2000 completed his undergraduate degree in Animal Physiology/Neuroscience at UCSD. While working on his Bachelor’s of Science and for some time after, he worked in a physical therapy clinic where the majority of the patients were older adults. At this clinic, there were some patients that made very little improvements, and it was not always clear why certain interventions worked better for some patients and not others. Intrigued by this, he decided to continue his education at California State University at Northridge where he completed a Master’s degree in Kinesiology in 2004. There he studies biomechanical aspects of walking and realized that he was interested in pursuing a career in academia. Eager to see how the weather might differ outside of southern California, Joaquin worked towards his PhD under the mentorship of Rachael Seidler in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan. His research examined how different cognitive processes contribute to motor learning in both young and older adults, primarily using fMRI and EEG methodologies to probe these questions. After graduating in the fall of 2008, Joaquin A. Anguera searched for a laboratory where he would gain more experience in the realm of cognitive aging…and came across the Gazzaley lab, where he started working in January of 2009.
The overarching goal of Joaquin’s research in the lab is to examine how unique aspects of cognitive & motor performance contribute to the process of skill acquisition. This involves not only characterizing healthy (young adults, older adults, children) and/or impaired individuals (autistic, ADHD, depression), but also developing cognitive training interventions to remediate targeted deficits. Joaquin's expertise in the examination of motor-related deficits provides a unique perspective given the Gazzaley lab's focus on perceptual suppression in cognitive paradigms. Using behavioral, EEG, and fMRI methodologies, Joaquin's research interests include:
- Developing cognitive training interventions for healthy and/or impaired children, younger & older adults (** See Joaquin's NeuroRacer study featured in Nature **)
- Interrogating how skill acquisition and interference resolution abilities are affected in different populations
- Defining the role of cognitive processes (working memory, attention, inhibition) during distinct motor actions
- Integrating mobile technologies (tablet, phone) into existing interventions and experimental paradigms to leverage data collection outside of the laboratory
- The use of different neuroimaging techniques (EEG, fMRI) to elucidate brain structure-function relationships
Publications/Book Chapters/Review Articles
- Anguera, J.A., Boccanfuso, J., Rintoul, J.L., Al-Hashimi, O., Faraji, F., Janowich, J., Kong E., Laraburro, Y., Rolle, C., Johnston, E., & Gazzaley, A. (2013) Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults. Nature. 501: 97-101.
- Anguera, J.A., Lyman, K., Zanto, T.P., Bollinger, J., and Gazzaley, A. (2013) Reconciling the influence of task-set switching and motor inhibition processes on stop signal after-effects. Frontiers in Psychology.
- Anguera, J.A. and Gazzaley, A. (2012) Dissociation of motor and sensory inhibition processes in normal aging. Clinical Neurophysiology. 123(4), 730-40.
- Anguera, J.A., Bernard, J., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., Jaeggi, S.M., Buschkuehl, M., Benson, B.L., Jennett, S.,Humfleet, J., Jonides, J., & Seidler, R.D. (2012). The effects of working memory resource depletion and training on sensorimotor adaptation. Behavioural Brain Research. 228(1):107-115.
- Seidler, R.D., Bo, J., Anguera, J.A. (2012). Neurocognitive contributions to motor skill learning: the role of working memory. Journal of Motor Behavior. 44 (6): 445-453.
- Fling, B.W., Chapekis, M., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., Anguera, J., Bo, J., Langan, J., Welsh, R.C., Seidler, R.D. (2011) Age differences in callosal contributions to processing speed and working memory. Neuropsychologia. Jul; 49(9): 2564-69.
- Benson, B.L., Anguera, J.A., Seidler, R.D. (2011) An explicit strategy enhances motor performance but interferes with sensorimotor adaptation. J Neurophys. Jun; 105(6): 2843-51.
- Anguera, J.A., Bo, J., Seidler, R.D. (2011) Aging effects on motor learning. Invited review chapter for Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. N. Seel, ed. Springer Publishing.
- Anguera, J.A., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., Willingham, D.T., and Seidler, R.D. (2011) Failure to engage spatial working memory contributes to age-related declines in visuomotor learning. J Cog Neuroscience. Jan; 23(1): 11-25.
- Goble DJ, Anguera J.A. (2010). Plastic changes in hand proprioception following force-field motor learning. J Neurophys. Sep; 104(3): 1213-5.
- Anguera, J.A., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., Willingham, D.T., and Seidler, R.D. (2010). Contributions of spatial working memory to visuomotor learning. J Cog Neuroscience. Sept. (9): 197-30.
- Anguera, J.A., Seidler, R.D., & Gehring, W.J. (2009). Changes in performance monitoring duirng sensorimotor adaptation. J Neurophys. Sept.; 102(3): 1868-79.
- Anguera, J.A., Russell, C.A., Noll, D.C., & Seidler, R.D. (2007). Neural correlates associated with intermanual transfer of sensorimotor adaptation. Brain Research, 1185: 136-51.
- Seidler, R. D., Bangert, A. S., Anguera, J.A., & Walsh, C. M. Motor Performance, pp. 801 - 806. Invited review chapter for Encyclopedia on Aging. R. Schulz, L. Noelker, K. Rockwood, R. Sprott, eds. Springer Publishing, 2006.
- Seidler, R. D., Bangert, A. S., Anguera, J.A., & Walsh, C. M. Motor Control, pp. 228-236. Encyclopedia of Gerontology (Second Edition): Age, Aging and the Aged. J. Birren, editor. Elsevier press, 2006.