Dr. Karns uses human neuroimaging, physiology, and behavior to address the following questions:
How do senses interact in the human brain? How changeable or plastic are these interactions across the lifespan? How are these interactions shaped by external factors in environment and internal factors such as emotion, attention, and awareness?

 

Prosocial emotions:

Karns, CM, Moore WE, Mayr U, The cultivation of pure altruism via gratitude: A functional MRI study of change with gratitude practice. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2017. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00599 

Conference presentations:

Karns, CM. Gratitude in a Changing Brain. Positive Resilient Minds. Learning and the Brain. 2017

Karns, CM. Relating gratitude to social evaluations and generosity.  Social Affective Neuroscience Society, 2014.

Karns C.M., Towards an Integrative Science of Gratitude,  (Dacher Keltner, organizer) 26th APS Annual Convention San Francisco, May 22-25 2014.

Karns C.M., The Gratitude Effect: Physical, Psychological, and Social Benefits of Gratitude. The Greater Good Gratitude Summit. Berkeley, CA June 7, 2014

Karns C.M. The Grateful Brain. Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude Research Workshop, Berkeley, CA, June 2013.

Karns C.M. Prosocial Emotions and Neuroplasticity. University of Oregon Mindfulness Retreat. November 2013.

Karns C.M. Prosocial Emotions and Neuroplasticity. Institute of Neuroscience retreat symposium. University of Oregon. October 2013.

 

Neuroplasticity Publications

Karns CM, Stevens C, Dow MW, Schorr EM, Neville HJ. Atypical white-matter microstructure in congenitally deaf adults: A region of interest and tractography study using diffusion-tensor imaging.Hear Res. 2017 Jan;343:72-82. doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2016.07.008. Epub 2016 Jul 26.

Scott GD*, Karns CM*, Dow MW, Stevens C, and Neville HJ. Enhanced peripheral visual processing in congenitally deaf humans is supported by multiple brain regions, including primary auditory cortex . Front. Hum. Neurosci. (2013) doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00177
*equal first authorship

Karns CM, Dow MW, Neville HJ. Altered cross-modal processing in the primary auditory cortex of congenitally deaf adults: a visual-somatosensory fMRI study with a double-flash illusion. Journal of Neuroscience. (2012) Jul 11; 32(28):9626-38.

 

Attention and Awareness Publications

Giuliano RJ, Karns CM, Roos LE, Bell TA, Petersen S, Neville HJ, Pakulak E. Effects of Early Adversity on Neural Mechanisms of Distractor Suppression Are Mediated by Sympathetic Nervous System Activity in Preschool-Aged Children. (In Press, 2018) Developmental Psychology.

Karns CM, Isbell E, Giuliano RJ, Neville HJ. Auditory attention in childhood and adolescence: An event-related potential study of spatial selective attention to one of two simultaneous stories. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2015 Jun;13:53-67. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.03.001. Epub 2015 Apr 29.

Giuliano RJ, Karns CM, Neville HJ, Hillyard SA. Early auditory evoked potential is modulated by selective attention and related to individual differences in visual working memory capacity. J Cogn Neurosci. 2014 Dec;26(12):2682-90. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_00684. Epub 2014 Jul 7.

Batterink L, Karns CM, Neville H. Dissociable Mechanisms Supporting Awareness: The P300 and Gamma in a Linguistic Attentional Blink Task. Cerebral Cortex. (2012) Dec;22(12):2733-44.

Batterink L, Karns CM, Yamada Y, Neville H. The role of awareness in semantic and syntactic processing: an ERP attentional blink study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. (2010) 22(11):2514-29.

Karns, C.M., Knight, R.T., Intermodal auditory, visual, and tactile attention modulates early stages of neural processing. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. (2009) 21(4):669-83.

Moberget T., Karns, C.M., Deouell, L., Lindgren, M., Ivry, R.B., Knight, R.T Detecting violations of sensory expectancies following cerebellar degeneration: A mismatch negativity study. Neuropsychologia (2008) 46(1): 2569-79.

Deouell L.Y., Karns C.M., Harrison T.B., Knight R.T. Spatial Asymmetries of Auditory Event-Synthesis in Humans. Neuroscience Letters. (2003) 335:171-4.

 

Brain Development Publications

Bartholomeusz, H.H., Courchesne, E., Karns, C.M. Relationship between head circumference and brain volume in healthy normal children and adults. Neuropediatrics (2002) 33:239-41.

Saitoh O, Karns CM, Courchesne E. Development of the hippocampal formation from 2 to 42 years: MRI evidence of smaller area dentata in autism. Brain (2001) 124:1317-24.

Courchesne E, Karns CM, Davis HR, Ziccardi R, Carper RA, Tigue ZD, Chisum HJ, Moses P, Pierce K, Lord C, Lincoln AJ, Pizzo S, Schreibman L, Haas RH, Akshoomoff NA, Courchesne RY. Unusual brain growth patterns in early life in patients with autistic disorder: an MRI study. Neurology (2001) 57:245-54.