Shikha Prashad

Research interests

Dr. Prashad’s research examines the neural processes underlying motor behavior in typical and clinical (e.g., movement disorders, substance use) populations across the lifespan. She combines behavioral and neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI) methods with big data techniques (e.g., machine learning) to identify patterns in behavior and brain activity and how they are disrupted in these disorders. Dr. Prashad aims to use these patterns to develop approaches to optimize cognitive and motor performance, predict the development of disorders, and track progression of interventions. Dr. Prashad is the director of the Cognitive Motor Neuroscience Laboratory.

Teaching interests

• Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, teaches courses in Motor Learning and Control
• Director of the Cognitive Motor Neuroscience Laboratory

Recent achievements

Selected Recent Publications

• Prashad, S., Du, Y., & Clark, J.E. (2021) Sequence structure has a differential effect on underlying motor learning processes. Journal of Motor Learning and Development, 9, 38-57. doi.org/10.1123/jmld.2020-0031
• Prashad, S., Hammonds, R. P., Wiese, A.L., Milligan, A.L., & Filbey, F.M. (2020) Sex-related differences in subjective, but not neural, cue-elicited craving response in heavy cannabis users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 209, 107931. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107931
• Prashad, S., Dedrick, E.S., To, W.T., Vanneste, S., and Filbey, F.M. (2018) Testing the role of the posterior cingulate cortex in processing salient stimuli in cannabis users: an rTMS study. European Journal of Neuroscience, 1-13. doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14194
• Prashad, S., Dedrick, E.S., and Filbey, F.M. (2018) Cannabis users exhibit increased cortical activation during resting state compared to non-users. NeuroImage, 179, 176-186. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.031
• Filbey, F.M., Gohel, S., Prashad, S., and Biswal, B.B. (2018) Differential associations of combined vs. isolated cannabis and nicotine on brain resting state networks. Brain Structure and Function, 223, 3317-3326. doi.org/10.1007/s00429-018-1690-5
• Prashad, S., Milligan, A.L., Cousijn, J., and Filbey, F.M. (2017) Cross-cultural effects of cannabis use disorder: Evidence to support a cultural neuroscience approach. Current Addiction Reports, 2, 100-109. doi.org/10.1007/s40429-017-0145-z
• Prashad, S. and Filbey, F.M. (2017) Cognitive motor deficits in cannabis users. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 13, 1-7. doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.07.001
• Du, Y., Prashad, S., Schoenbrun, I., and Clark, J.E. (2016) Probabilistic motor sequence yields greater offline and less online learning than fixed sequence. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10. doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00087

Educational background

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Texas at Dallas (2019)
• Ph.D., Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park (2015)
• B.A., Biology, Computer Science, Bryn Mawr College (2009)