Precision Cognition
Neuroscientist Caterina Gratton brings a lifelong passion to the fight against Parkinson鈥檚 disease
For her seventh birthday, Caterina Gratton鈥檚 parents pulled out all the stops: big colorful balloons, a delicious cake, and backyard activities galore. Gratton, now an associate professor of and a member of FSU鈥檚 , especially loved the brain game involving placards with color names written in non-corresponding color ink. All the kids raced to be first to identify the color name written on the card regardless of the physical ink color.
It wasn鈥檛 until years later that Gratton realized this game was a famous cognitive psychology exercise, the Stroop task, which showcases the difficulty of naming a physical color when it鈥檚 used to display the name of a different color 鈥 like blue ink used to write the word 鈥渞ed鈥 鈥 because of how the brain processes conflicting information.
But neurological tasks at birthdays and, later, theoretical arguments at the dinner table were a way of life for Gratton.
鈥淏oth of my parents, Italian immigrants who grew up outside of Rome, are cognitive neuroscientists. They came to the U.S. to pursue doctoral degrees; I was born when they were in graduate school,鈥 Gratton said. 鈥淔or a long time, I refused to accept that I enjoyed psychology because I couldn鈥檛 possibly be just like them!鈥
While her parents鈥 enthusiasm made a science career a no-brainer, Gratton tested other disciplines before ultimately returning to neuroscience. She earned a doctorate from the University of California 鈥 Berkeley and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, before coming to FSU in 2022.
鈥淢any experiences growing up taught me that science is this amazing creative enterprise where every day is different, and there are always new problems that arise. This can seem overwhelming, but it鈥檚 satisfying to have new challenges and new puzzles to solve,鈥 Gratton said.
Currently, Gratton is part of a multi-institution team funded by a five-year, $3 million National Institutes of Health Research Project Grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders producing reliable and detailed measures of an individual鈥檚 brain networks 鈥 representations of how brain regions communicate together. The goal is to identify how specific differences in brain networks affect symptoms and progression of Parkinson鈥檚, a disease that affects nearly one million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million worldwide.
鈥Caterina brings an amazing set of skills and expertise in brain networks that complement our growing neuroscience group, and she鈥檚 helping make FSU a nationally recognized center of excellence in fMRI and human neuroscience... she鈥檚 a star on the rise in the field.鈥
鈥 Brad Schmidt, Department of Psychology Chair
Among the key tools in Gratton鈥檚 work is a functional MRI, which measures small changes in blood flow that occur with brain activity and can be used to assess areas of the brain handling critical functions, as well as to evaluate effects of disease. However, fMRI signals produce data on individual brain networks that is inherently noisy, or unclear, so researchers have overcome this issue by averaging data across large groups of people. Averaging data makes it difficult to determine how differences in individuals affect the trajectory of disorders like Parkinson鈥檚.
Gratton鈥檚 team has developed major innovations to address erasure of discrete details and precisely define brain networks by collecting extended amounts of data and combining individuals鈥 data with advanced denoising methods.
鈥淲e hope this information eventually points us toward markers to track to better understand prognosis of Parkinson鈥檚 as well as potential treatment targets,鈥 Gratton said. 鈥淚t means the world to do work that can improve the lives of so many.鈥
Gratton鈥檚 research has also been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging and the National Science Foundation. In 2021, she received an NSF CAREER Award, the agency鈥檚 most prestigious recognition in support of early career faculty with potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to advance their fields.
鈥淐aterina brings an amazing set of skills and expertise in brain networks that complement our growing neuroscience group, and she鈥檚 helping make FSU a nationally recognized center of excellence in fMRI and human neuroscience,鈥 said Brad Schmidt, chair of the Department of Psychology and director of FSU鈥檚 . 鈥淗er new grant expands her work in a clinical direction, providing important new insights, and she鈥檚 a star on the rise in the field.鈥
Gratton and her husband Terence Crofts, an assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the , may be inadvertently continuing the tradition of a science family as their children鈥檚 interest in participating in studies and exploring different science fields blossoms on its own. While Gratton鈥檚 experience comes with privilege of knowledge about academic careers, she鈥檚 working to break this barrier for future generations.
鈥淚n my lab, I have an open-door, ask-me-anything attitude and frequently discuss logistics of academia that often aren鈥檛 taught to young researchers,鈥 Gratton said. 鈥淢y hope is this knowledge helps demystify some of the complexities around academic careers and makes them more transparent and accessible to a wider group of people.鈥
McKenzie Harris is a two-time FSU alumna who earned a master鈥檚 degree from the College of Communication and Information in 2022 and a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the Department of English in 2020.