Tamara Hershey

Tamara Hershey

James S. McDonnell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in Psychiatry & Radiology

Additional Titles & Roles


  • Director, Neuroimaging Labs Research Center (NIL-RC) @ MIR
  • Director, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience
  • Vice Chair for Research in Psychiatry
  • Director, Translational Neuroscience Division in Psychiatry

Education & Training


  • PhD: Clinical Psychology: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1996
  • BA: Psychology: Earlham College, IN, 1988

Research Interests


Neuropathophysiology underlying cognitive and mood aspects of Parkinson disease.
Neuropathophysiological and behavioral effects of obesity and diabetes.
Using neuroimaging and neuropsychological techniques, we study:
1) effects of obesity, T1 diabetes and T2 diabetes on the brain in children and adults.
2) neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative changes in Wolfram syndrome
3) effects of Parkinson disease on cognitive and mood processes; how deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus affects brain function.

Visit lab website

Key Publications


  • Funded Research Projects


    Nutrition & Obesity Research Center(PI):Pilot Study of Reward Circuits in Childhood Obesity
    NIDDK(Significant Contributor):Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Diabetes
    NINDS(Significant Contributor):Biomarkers of Parkinson Disease Progression
    NICHD(Significant Contributor):Cognitive and Neuroanatomical Consequences of Type 1 Diabetes in Young Children
    NICHD(PI):Tracking Neurodegeneration in Early Wolfram Syndrome
    NIMH(Key Personnel):Mechanisms of Cognitive Decline in Late-Life Anxiety Disorders
    NIMH(Significant Contributor):Phasic Dopamine Release in Tourette Syndrome
    NIMH(Key Personnel):2/3 Antiglucocorticoid Therapy for Cognitive Dysfunction in Late-life Anxiety
    Horizon 2020(Significant Contributor):Treat Wolfram
    NIDDK(Key Personnel):Hierarchical Brain and Physiological Responses to Hypoglycemia and HAAF in T1DM
    NIEHS(Significant Contributor):Novel Pet Markers of Cognitive Impairment in Manganese Neurotoxicity
    NCATS(Significant Contributor):Endoplasmic Reticulum Disease Center
    NIH(Significant Contributor):Glucose variability, Autoimmunity, and Neurocognitive outcomes in T1DM: GAIN1
    NIDDK(Significant Contributor):Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Impairment in Obesity
    WU Diabetes Research Center(Significant Contributor):A trial of liraglutide in Wolfram Syndrome
    NIMH(PI):Nfl: A potential biomarker of neuordegeneration in Wolfram Syndrome
    NIDDK(PI):Brain Health Across the Metabolic Continuum In Youth at Risk for T2D
    NIDDK(Significant Contributor):NeuroInflammation and Cognitive Impairment in Obesity
    NIH(Significant Contributor):Manganese-Related Motor and Cognitive Impairment, and Proteomic Biomarkers
    NIDDK(PI):Central Dopamine Receptors in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
    NCATS(PI):NfL: A potential biomarker of neurodegeneration in Wolfram syndrome
    NINDS(Significant Contributor):Neuroscience Training Program at Washington University
    NIH(Other):A High Performance Research Image Repository (RIR) for the Washington University Center of High Performance Computing (CHPC)
    NIH(PI):Investigating single-neuron mechanisms of face coding in the human brain
    NIA(PI):NfL: A potential biomarker of neurodegeneration in Wolfram Syndrome
    NIDDK(Significant Contributor):Program for Advancement of NIDDK-related Diverse Academicians and Scientists (PANDAs)
    NIMHHD(Key Personnel):Racism, Mental Health, and Neural Processing among Black American Emerging Adults
    NIOSH(Significant Contributor):Manganese-Related Motor and Cognitive System Toxicity Among Professional Welders
    NIMH(Significant Contributor):Racism, Mental Health Disorders, and Neural Processing among Black American Emerging Adults
    NIDDK(Significant Contributor):Cognitive Outcomes in Youth-onset T2D
    Association Syndrome de Wolfram(Significant Contributor):Defining Wolfram Syndrome progression by modeling a Clinical Score for the disease
    NIDA(Significant Contributor):Multidisciplinary Dissection of Pain-Induced Modulation of Prescription Opioid Use and Misuse
    NINDS(Significant Contributor):Cortical Network Modulation by Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation