The Fareri Lab

for Social Neuroscience and Decision-Making

Welcome to the Fareri Lab at Adelphi University, directed by Dr. Dominic Fareri. We are located in the Derner School of Psychology. Our lab investigates how social factors such as who we know and what we know about them change the way in which we learn, place value on others and social experiences and make decisions.

Research

Research in the lab broadly focuses on understanding the way in which the social environment influences neural mechanisms that underlie our choices and ability to learn about others. We employ behavioral, computational (reinforcement learning), psychophysiological (skin conductance) and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) techniques to address these issues. Current and future work in the lab is centered around a few related areas of interest.

Social Relationships

Social psychological theories posit humans are intrinsically motivated to form close social connections with others. These close connections can occur within caregiving contexts (i.e., parents) or with peers (i.e., best friends) that we have come to know well over time (Fareri & Delgado, 2014, The Neuroscientist.). Evidence indicates that positive experiences both shared with others (Fareri*, Niznikiewicz* et al., 2012, Journal of Neuroscience) and earned in competition against others (Fareri & Delgado, 2014, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience) may be more highly valued and informative when interacting with close friends compared with strangers, as represented by differential encoding in the brain's reward circuit. Successful social interactions (i.e., collaborations) with close others are indeed associated with a computational social reward value signal that scales with the value of a social relationship (Fareri*, Chang* & Delgado, 2015, Journal of Neuroscience). Current work in the lab is exploring how constructs such as perceived social support influences the value assigned to social experiences and how the value of close relationships changes in aging samples.

Decisions in Social Contexts

Many of the decisions we make occur within social contexts (e.g., deciding whether someone is trustworthy, choosing whether to make a risky or a safe choice). We often bring to such decisions important prior knowledge about interaction partners that is based on assumptions about social groups (Stanley, Sokol-Hessner, Fareri et al., 2012, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences), or previous experience from other situations that can impact the way in which we learn about their reputations (Fareri et al., 2012, Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience). Current studies in the lab are investigating how one's propensity to engage in risky choice may change depending on social context, and how positive and negative social experiences can change preferences for immediate gratification.

Atypical Experiences

Early & atypical life experiences can have a significant impact on brain development and future social and emotional behavior (Fareri & Tottenham, 2016, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience). Indeed, a lack of stable caregiving and social support early in life can profoundly alter connectivity in neural networks important for processing reward and social value, which in turn is associated with increased levels of social difficulties (Fareri et al., 2017, Development and Psychopathology). Current work in the lab is beginning to investigate how interpersonal trauma (e.g., posttraumatic stress) influences the ability to derive reward value from social interactions and from social support figures.

People

Director

Dominic Fareri

Dominic is an Assistant Professor in the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University and is the Director of the undergraduate Neuroscience program. He is a Visiting Research Professor at the City College of New York and an affiliate of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies. His research broadly focuses on understanding how the social world influences brain function and connectivity to shape the way in which we interact with others and develop relationships. Dominic received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Rutgers University, where he trained with Mauricio Delgado. He then completed postdoctoral training with Nim Tottenham at UCLA and Columbia University. In his spare time, Dominic enjoys spending time with his family and rooting for the Yankees.

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Lab Manager

Melanie Ruiz

Melanie received her B.A.s in Psychology and Cognitive Science from Rutgers University in 2020, with a concentration in decision-making and cognitive neuroscience. Her research interests lie in neuroscience and computational approaches to understanding social cognition and decision-making in addition to understanding how such processes vary across individuals and contexts. She plans to pursue a PhD in cognitive neuroscience in the near future. In her spare time, Melanie enjoys live music, reading, playing guitar and painting.

Graduate Students

Talia Schiff

Talia is a fourth year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program. She received her B.A in psychology with a neuroscience concentration and english minor from Yeshiva University, and worked as a research assistant in a cognitive neuroscience lab at Columbia Medical Center. Her research interests include the intersectionality of neuroscience and clinical psychology, and she aspires to academic and humanitarian excellence in her career as a psychologist. Her current research in Dr. Fareri's lab is focused on the neural, cognitive, and psychological processes underlying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)..

Jordan Siegel

Jordan Siegel is a third year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Adelphi University. Jordan received her B.A. in Psychology from Franklin and Marshall College and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Jordan has been a practicing clinician for the last 6 years. Jordan's research interests center around the neurobiology of attachment relationships, the implications of such on development and the application of these principles to clinical treatment for children and adolescents. Jordan hopes to pursue a career in academia where she can continue to contribute to research and maintain a small clinical practice. In her spare time Jordan enjoys watching basketball, being outdoors and being physically active.

Katelyn Triolo

Katelyn completed her undergraduate degree in cognitive neuroscience and is currently a graduate student in the Mental Health Counseling program. Her research interests include understanding how emotions impact our decisions as well as exploring the mechanisms of addiction and the implications impulsivity may have on both addiction and other mental illnesses. In the future Katelyn plans to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in neuropsychology. In her spare time Katelyn likes trail running, playing drums, and playing pool.

Wei-Qian Wang

Wei-Qian is currently a fourth-year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. In 2018, Wei-Qian graduated summa cum laude from Hunter College, CUNY, and received his B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. In 2020, he graduated with his M.A. from the Psychology in Education program at Teachers College with a concentration in global mental health. Wei-Qian’s research interests focus on examining effective ways to culturally adapt existing therapeutic interventions to address the disparity in mental health seeking behaviors that are prominent in many minority populations. Moreover, he is interested in understanding how psychosocial distress, such as high levels of expressed emotions and interpersonal conflicts, contributes to symptom severity of mental disorders.

Undergraduate Students

Reece Farrow

Reece is a Cognitive neuroscience major with a PE and business minor. His research interests focus on sports performance and linguistics. He aspires to become a Performance sport neurologist/psychologist and counsellor in the near future. In his spare time, Reece enjoys golf and tennis.

Sarah Joy Gallardo

Sarah is a senior Molecular Neuroscience major with a Sociology minor and a member of Adelphi University’s Honors College. For her senior thesis, she is currently focusing on the relationship between amygdala connectivity at rest and changes in loss aversion in social contexts. After graduation, she plans on attending medical school to become a physician in an underserved community. When she is not studying or working, Sarah enjoys going to concerts, hanging out with friends and family, playing the piano, and traveling.

Leah Lavoie

Leah is a cognitive neuroscience major with aspirations to continue on to earn her Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She is interested in researching psychopathology and plans to focus her career on clinical practice with trauma and stressor disorders. In her spare time, Leah enjoys experiencing new places and things with her friends as well as painting. 

Caroline Seifen

Caroline is a Molecular Neuroscience major with a planned minor in Biology. In terms of research, she is interested in exploring the integration of technological and computational systems in investigating neurological mechanisms, including decision-making and memory function. She plans to attend medical school and become a physician. In her free time, Caroline enjoys playing soccer, writing, and spending time with family and friends.

Lab Alumni

Tanya Saraiya

Tanya is beginning her clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in the Substance Use Track.

Kelly Hiersche

Kelly is currently a Research Assistant in the Buckeye-Brain Aging Lab (B-BAL) at The Ohio State University.

Joanne Stasiak

Joanne is currently the Lab Manager for the Social Affective Neuroscience Lab at Temple University.

Landon Kessler

Landon is planning to pursue medical school with a focus on neurosurgery.

Amalia Saleh

Amalia is planning to pursue medical school.

Monroe Marshall

Monroe is currently pursuing a graduate degree in public health.

Eboney Nedd

Eboney is currently pursuing a graduate degree as a Physician's Assistant.

Esther Libby Frankl

Esther just completed her MA in Psychology at Adelphi and is planning to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Developmental Psychology.

Collaborators

Luke Chang, Dartmouth College

Mauricio Delgado, Rutgers University

Laurel Gabard-Durnam, Northeastern University

Dylan Gee, Yale University

Tania Giovannetti, Temple University

Denise Hien, Rutgers University

Johanna Jarcho, Temple University

Anna Konova, Rutgers University

Teresa Lopez-Castro, City College of New York

Peter Sokol-Hessner, University of Denver

David Smith, Temple University

Damian Stanley, Adelphi University

Nim Tottenham, Columbia University

Liane Young, Boston College

Publications

*denotes equal author contribution

Preprints & Manuscripts Under Review

Smith DV, Ludwig RM, Dennison JB, Giovannetti T, Fareri DS. Social reward processing and decision-making in younger and older adults. (under review)

Chang LJ, Li X, Nguyen K, Ranger M, Begunoa Y, Chen PHA, Castrellon JJ, Samanez-Larkin GR, Zald DH, Fareri DS, Delgado MR, Tomova L. A neural signature of reward. bioRxiv 2022.08.23.504939; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.08.23.504939. (Preprint).

Fareri DS, Goff B, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Gee DG, Caldera C, Choy T, Tottenham N. Differential age-related effects of gain and loss contexts on probabilistic reward learning. (under review).

Nicastri C, Dejoie J, Fareri DS, Delgado MR. (under review; invited submission). Reward Learning in a Social World In Armony, J., & Vuilleumier, P. (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Human Affective Neuroscience, 2nd Edition. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

2023

Chen A, Fareri DS, Güroglu B, Delgado MR, Chang LJ. Towards a neurometric-based construct validity of trust. (accepted). eLife.

Delgado MR, Fareri DS, Chang LJ. Characterizing the emerging mechanisms of social connection. (accepted). Neuron.

Fareri DS, Goff B, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Gee DG, Caldera CJ, Choy T, Tottenham N. Differential age-related effects of gain and loss contexts on probabilistic reward learning. (submitted).

Chang LJ, Li X, Nguyen K, Ranger M, Begunova Y, Chen PA, Castrellon JJ, Samanez-Larkin GR, Zald DH, Fareri DS, Delgado MR, Tomova L. A neural signature of reward. (under review). bioRxiv 2022.08.23.504939; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.08.23.504939

2022

Brudner EG, Fareri DS, Shehata SG, Delgado MR. Social Feedback Promotes Positive Social Sharing and the Formation of Social Bonds. Emotion (accepted)

Fareri DS, Stasiak J, Sokol-Hessner P. Choosing for others changes dissociable computational mechanisms underpinning risky decision-making. Scientific Reports. 12:14361. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-18437-9

Rodrigues GA, Obeldobel CA, Kochendorfer LB, Brumariu LE, Fareri DS, Kerns KA. Parent-Child Attachment Security and Depressive Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Meditating Roles of Gratitude and Forgiveness. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. doi: 10.1007/s10578-022-01394-9

Bloom PA, VanTieghem M, Gabard-Durnam L, Gee DG, Flannery J,Caldera C, Goff B, Telzer EH, Humphreys KL, Fareri DS, Shapiro M, Algharazi S, Bolger N, Aly M, Tottenham N. Age-related change in task-evoked amygdala-prefrontal circuitry: a multiverse approach with an accelerated longitudinal cohort aged 4-22 years. Human Brain Mapping. 2022 Jul;43(10):3221-3244. doi: 10.1002/hbm.25847.

Fareri DS, Hackett K, Tepfer LJ, Kelly V, Henninger N, Reeck C, Giovannetti T, Smith DV. Age-related differences in ventral striatal and default mode network function during reciprocated trust. NeuroImage. 2022 Aug 1;256:119267. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119267.

Gee DG, Hanson C, Caglar LR, Fareri DS, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Mills-Finnerty C, Goff B, Caldera CJ, Lumian DS, Flannery J, Hanson* SJ, Tottenham* N. (accepted). Experimental evidence for a child-to-adolescent switch in human amygdala-prefrontal cortex communication. Developmental Science. Jul;25(4):e13238. doi: 10.1111/desc.13238.

2021

VanTieghem M, Korom M, Flannery J, Choy T, Caldera C, Humphreys KL, Gabard-Durnam L, Goff G, Gee DG, Telzer E, Shapiro M, Louie JY,Fareri DS, Bolger N, Tottenham, N. (accepted). Longitudinal changes in amygdala, hippocampus and cortisol development following early caregiving adversity. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/yp5h2

Brudner E, Karousatos A, Fareri DS, Delgado MR. (2021). To trust or not to trust: How reputations shape our decisions. In Eds. Krueger, F, The Neurobiology of Trust. Cambridge University Press.

2020

Sazhin D, Frazier A, Haynes C, Johnston C, Chat I, Dennison J, Bart C, McCloskey M, Chein J, Fareri DS, Alloy L, Jarcho JM, Smith DV. (2020). The Role of Social Reward and Corticostriatal Connectivity in Substance Use. Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science.2020;5:e200024.doi: 10.31234/osf.io/su7vg

Park B, Fareri DS, Delgado MR, Young L. (2020). The role of right temporo-parietal junction in processing social prediction error across relationship contexts, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. doi:10.1093/scan/nsaa072

Fareri DS, Chang LJ, Delgado MR. Neural mechanisms of social learning. In Gazzaniga MS, Mangun GR, & Poeppel D. The Cognitive Neurosciences, 6th Edition. MIT Press.

Fareri DS, Smith DV, Delgado MR. The influence of relationship closeness on default-mode network connectivity during social interactions. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(3):261-271.

2019

Saraiya T, Fareri DS, Lopez-Castro T, Hien D, Fertuck E, Melara R. The social cognitive appraisal of trustworthiness in individuals with dimensional levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms: A translational study. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 10:1. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2019.1697582.

Fareri DS. Neurobehavioral mechanisms supporting trust and reciprocity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13:271. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00271

Callaghan BL, Gee DG, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Telzer E, Humphreys KL, Goff B, Shapiro M, Flannery JE, Lumian DS, Fareri DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N. Decreased amygdala reactivity to parent cues protects against anxiety following early adversity: an examination across 3-years. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 4(7):664-671.

2018

Fareri DS, Delgado MR. The affective nature of social interactions. In Fox AS, Lapate RC, Shackman AJ and Davidson RJ. The Nature of Emotion: Fundamental Questions, 2nd Edition. (2018).

2017

Fareri DS, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Goff B, Flannery J, Gee DG, Lumian DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N. (2017). Altered ventral striatal-medial prefrontal cortex resting-state connectivity mediates adolescent social problems after early institutional care. Development and Psychopathology, 29(5):1865-1876.

Silvers JA, Goff B, Gabard-Durnan L, Gee DG, Fareri DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N. (2017). Vigilance, the amygdala and anxiety in youth with a history of institutional care. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 2(6):493-501.

2016

Silvers JA, Lumian DS, Gabard-Durnan LJ, Gee DG, Goff B, Fareri DS, Caldera C, Flannery J, Telzer E, Humphreys KL, Tottenham N. (2016). Early parental deprivation is followed by broader recruitment of neural circuitry for aversive learning during human development. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(24):6420-30.

Fareri DS, Tottenham N. (2016). Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 19: 233-247.

Gabard-Durnam L*, Gee DG*, Goff B, Flannery J, Telzer E, Humphreys K, Lumian D, Fareri DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N. (2016). Stimulus elicited connectivity influences resting-state connectivity years later in human development: A prospective study. The Journal of Neuroscience, 36(17): 4771-84.

2015

Fareri DS, Gabard-Durnam LJ, Goff B, Flannery J, Gee DG, Lumian DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N. (2015). Normative development of ventral striatal resting-state connectivity in humans. NeuroImage, 118:422-437.

Fareri DS*, Chang LJ*, Delgado MR. (2015). Computational substrates of social value in interpersonal collaboration. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(21):8170-8180.

2014

Gee DG*, Gabard-Durnam L*, Telzer EH, Humphreys KL, Goff B, Shapiro M, Flannery J, Lumian DS, Fareri DS, Caldera C, Tottenham N. (2014). Maternal buffering of human amygdala-prefrontal circuitry during childhood. Psychological Science, 25(11):2067-2078.

Fareri DS, Delgado MR. (2014). The importance of social rewards and social networks in the human brain. The Neuroscientist, 20(4):387-402.

Fareri DS, Delgado MR. (2014). Differential reward responses during competition against in- and out-of-network others. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(4):412-420.

2013

Fareri DS, Delgado MR. (2013). Reward Learning: Contributions of corticobasal ganglia circuits to reward value signals. In Armony, J., and Vuilleumier, P. (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Human Affective Neuroscience. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

2012 and earlier

Fareri DS, Chang LJ, Delgado MR.(2012). Effects of direct social experience on trust decisions and neural reward circuitry. Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience, 6(148).

Fareri DS*, Niznikiewicz MA*, Lee VK, Delgado MR. (2012). Social network modulation of reward-related signals. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32(26):9045–9052.

Stanley DA, Sokol-Hessner P, Fareri DS, Perino MT, Delgado MR, Banaji MR, Phelps EA. (2012). Race and reputation: Perceived racial group trustworthiness influences the neural correlates of trust decisions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences, 367(1589):744-53.

Fareri DS, Martin LN, Delgado MR. (2008). Reward related processing in the human brain: Developmental considerations. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 1191-1211.

Opportunities

Interested in participating in a study? We are currently recruiting healthy individuals between the ages of 18-35 for a number of paid studies. Contact us at farerilab [at] gmail.com.

Additionally, Drs. Dominic Fareri and Laura Brumariu are conducting a study to understand how children's close relationships shape the development of positive traits, such as being thankful and the ability to forgive. Families are compensated $40 for each child who participates and are entered in a raffle to win a $100 Amazon gift card! We are generally scheduling on weekdays after 3:30pm, and after 10am on Saturdays. Feel free to email carelab@adelphi.edu or call 516-877-4822 if you have any questions!

  • We are seeking help from families with children between the ages of 9-14.
  • During the visit, children and parents will be asked to complete separate questionnaires that ask about their relationships, characteristics, and feelings.
  • Parents and children will be also interviewed separately that will be audiotaped.
  • We will also take a facial photo of the child and parent separately to be used in computer tasks, similar to playing a short game. We will delete both pictures at the end of the session and they will not be saved to any device!
  • Finally, the parent and child will be videotaped together discussing different topics and doing things together like playing a game and having conversations about common topics between parents and children (for example, discussing happy moments).
  • Importantly, your participation in this project would be voluntary, and all of the information you provide would remain confidential.
  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are taking extra precautions since everyone's safety is our top priority! Precautions include COVID-19 screeners, having temperatures taken, face masks, social distancing, disinfecting all surfaces in rooms, etc.

If you are an undergraduate student at Adelphi enrolled in General Psychology (PIA 101) or Psychological Research (PIA 245) and need to participate in experiments for credit, please visit the Adelphi Sona Systems site to view studies in our lab currently being run for credit.

If you are interested in gaining research experience and learning more about our work, we are always looking for motivated volunteers! Please send an email to Dr. Fareri at dfareri [at] adelphi.edu.