Contact Information
Research Area
Education
B.A., Williams College, Psychology and Chemistry;
M.S., Vanderbilt University, Clinical Psychology
Jennifer Foss-Feig
Graduate Student
Research Area: Clinical Science
sensory and perceptual processing and integration in autism spectrum disorders
My primary advisor is Dr. Wendy Stone, who is now at University of Washington, and I am co-advised here at Vanderbilt by Drs. Mark Wallace, Sasha Key, and Bruce Compas. In addition, I am actively involved in the research of Dr. Carissa Cascio in the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Program.
Broadly speaking, my research examines the integrity of sensory and perceptual processes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using a variety of behavioral, psychophysical, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques. In particular, I am interested in clarifying the extent to which low-level sensory processing and integration is impacted in ASD, and exploring whether abnormalities in this area could reflect fundamental deficits underlying complex social and communication difficulties that are the hallmark of ASD.
Representative Publications
Cascio, C.J., Foss-Feig, J.H., Heacock, J.L., Newsom, C.R., Cowan, R.L., Benningfield, M.M., Rogers, B.P., and Cao, A. (in press). Response of neural reward regions to food cues in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Cascio, C.J., Foss-Feig, J.H., Heacock, J.L., Burnette, C.P., and Cosby, A.A. (2012). The rubber hand illusion in children with autism spectrum disorders: Decreased influence of combined tactile and visual input on proprioception. Autism.
Foss-Feig, J.H., Heacock, J.L., and Cascio, C.J. (2011). Tactile responsiveness patterns and their association with core features in autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, online ahead of print.
Kwakye, L.D., Foss-Feig, J.H., Cascio, C.J., Stone, W.L., and Wallace, M.T. (2011). Altered auditory and multisensory temporal processing in autism spectrum disorders. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 4:129.
Warren, Z.E., McPheeters, M.L., Sathe, N., Foss-Feig, J.H., Glasser, A., & Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2011). A systematic review of early intensive intervention for autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 127, 1303-1311.
Vaidya, C.J., Foss-Feig, J., Shook, D., Kaplan, L., Kenworthy, L., and Gaillard, W.D. (2011). Controlling attention to gaze and arrows in childhood: A fMRI study of typical development and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Developmental Science, 14, 911-924.
Warren, Z.E., Foss-Feig, J.H., Malesa, E.E., Lee, E.B., Taylor, J.L., Newsom, C.R., Crittendon, J., & Stone, W.L. (2011). Neurocognitive and behavioral outcomes of siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder at School-Age. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, online ahead of print.
Gordon, E. M., Lee, P. S., Maisog, J. M., Foss-Feig, J., Billington, M. E., VanMeter, J., and Vaidya, C. J. (2011). Strength of default mode resting-state connectivity relates to white matter integrity in children. Developmental Science, 14, 738-751.
Foss-Feig, J.H., Kwakye, L.E., Cascio, C.J., Burnette, C.P., Kadivar, H, Stone, W.L., and Wallace, M.T. (2010). An extended multisensory temporal binding window in autism spectrum disorders. Experimental Brain Research, 203, 381-389.
Stollstorff, M., Foss-Feig, J., Cook, E.H., Stein, M.A., Gaillard, W.D., and Vaidya, C.J. (2010). Neural response to working memory load varies by dopamine transporter genotype in children. Neuroimage, 53, 970-977.
Lee, P.S., Yerys, B.E., Della Rosa, A., Foss-Feig, J.H., Barnes, K.A., James, J.D., VanMeter, J., Vaidya, C.J., Gaillard, W.D., and Kenworthy, L.E. (2009). Functional connectivity of the inferior frontal cortex changes with age in children with autism spectrum disorders: A fcMRI study of response inhibition. Cerebral Cortex, 19, 1787-1794.
Lee, P.S., Foss-Feig, J., Henderson, J., Kenworthy, L., Gilotty, L., Gaillard, W.D., and Vaidya, C.J. (2007). Atypical neural substrates of Embedded Figure Task performance in children with autism spectrum disorders. Neuroimage, 38, 184-193.
Honors
Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship recipient from Autism Speaks (2009-2011)
Grant Title: Neural mechanisms underlying an extended multisensory temporal binding window in ASD