Barry S. Oken
Professor, Neurology, Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU
Medical Director, Clinical Neurophysiology, OHSU
e-mail: oken@ohsu.edu
Major Areas
Human attention, alertness and age-related changes in visual processing
Previous Positions
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, OHSU
Fellow in Neurology and EEG-Evoked Potentials, Mass. General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Neurology Resident, Boston University Medical Center
Education
BA (1974) University of Rochester
MD (1978) Medical College of Wisconsin
Research Interests
The broad goals in the lab are to better understand the mechanisms underlying the age-related decline in human cognition with particular emphasis on those mechanisms that may be remediable, and to better understand the effects of the relatively non-specific ascending neurotransmitter systems on human cognition. The cognitive experiments focus on visual processing, primarily visual attention. Experiments are performed in 1) healthy young adults on drugs affecting monoamine or acetylcholine systems 2) healthy older adults and 3) older adults with diseases affecting visual attention and the non-specific neurotransmitter systems, e.g., Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease as well as stress. Methodologies used are both physiologic and behavioral. Experimental visual tasks are developed using reaction time or accuracy measurements and also more standard clinical neuropsychology tests are often used. Physiologic measures used in the experiments include conventional EEG, digital EEG signal analysis, event-related potentials, autonomic nervous system activity, and scanpaths. The lab is also involved in research on complementary medical therapies in neurological disorders (http://www.ohsu.edu/orccamind ), with a current research focus on mind-body technologies, including meditation and yoga, and expectancy (placebo) effects. As a part of these interests, Dr. Oken directs an NIH-NCCAM funded institutional T32 training grant, CAM Research Training in Neuroscience and Stress, that funds both pre- and post-doctoral positions (http://www.ohsu.edu/orccamind/trainingopp62904.shtml)
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Selected Recent Publications
Salinsky MC, Storzbach D, Spencer DC, Oken BS, Landry T, Dodrill CS. Effects of topiramate and gabapentin on cognitive abilities in healthy volunteers. Neurology 2005, 64:792-798.
Oken BS, Kishiyama S, Zajdel D, Bourdette D, Carlsen J, Haas M, Hugos C, Kraemer DF, Lawrence J, Mass M (2004) Randomized controlled trial of yoga and exercise in multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 62:2058-2064.
Oken BS (2004) Placebo Effect: Clinical perspective and potential mechanisms. In: Oken BS (ed). Complementary Therapies in Neurology: An Evidence-Based Approach. New York: Parthenon Publishing. 199-230.
Oken BS (2004) Non-prescription and non-pharmacologic therapies for dementia. In: Oken BS (ed). Complementary Therapies in Neurology: An Evidence-Based Approach. New York: Parthenon Publishing. 303-325.
Salinsky MS, Oken BS, Storzbach D, Dodrill CB (2003) Assessment of CNS effects of antiepileptic drugs using quantitative EEG measures. Epilepsia. 44:1042-1050.
Griesar WS, Zajdel DP, Oken BS (2002) Nicotine effects on alertness and spatial attention in non-smokers. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 4:185-194.
Salinsky MC, Binder LM, Oken BS, Dodrill CB, Storzbach D (2002) Effects of gabapentin and carbamazepine on the EEG, alertness, and cognition in healthy volunteers. Epilepsia. 43:482-490.
Lou JS, Kearns G, Oken BS, Sexton G, Nutt J (2001) Exacerbated physical fatigue and mental fatigue in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders. 16:190-196.
Camicioli R, Lea E, Nutt JG, Sexton G, Oken BS (2001) Methylphenidate increases the motor effects of l-dopa in Parkinson's disease: A pilot study. Clinical Neuropharmacology. 24:208-13.
Oken BS, Kishiyama SS, Kaye JA, Jones DE (1999) Age-related differences in global-local processing: Stability of laterality differences but disproportionate impairment in global processing. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology. 12:76-81.