University of Texas at El Paso
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Psychology Department
   
Christina Sobin, Ph.D. Minimize    
Sobin, Christina PhD
   
Personal Information    
   
Research Program    

     Our laboratory studies brain/behavior relationships in children.  We focus on genetic and medical conditions that disrupt glutamate and GABA receptor function, and that are associated with early learning, cognitive and motor impairment.  Our work is translational, and integrates goals from the fields of cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, and neurobiology. The range of conditions that we study is intentionally broad. For example, the conditions may be genetic, as in the case of children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome; or they may be environmentally-based conditions exacerbated by genetic vulnerability, as in the case of lead exposure. By studying diverse disorders with a shared neuropathologic mechanism, we hope to develop a unified model of how mental function is altered over time by neuroexcitotoxic damage in particular brain pathways. We augment this work with studies that explore associations between attention, inhibition, and working memory, in children with and without idiopathic learning disabilities.

   
Recent Publications    

Sobin C, Gutierrez M, Alterio H. (2009) Polymorphisms of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) and peptide transporter 2 (PEPT2) genes in children with low-level lead exposure, Neurotoxicology, in press.  Impact Factor: 2.4

Sobin C, Kiley-Brabeck K, Monk SH, Khuri J, Karayiorgou M (2009) Sex differences in the behavior of children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome, Psychiatry Research, 166: 24-34. Impact Factor: 2.3

Sobin C, Monk S, Kiley-Brabeck K, Khuri J, Karayiorgou M. (2006) Neuromotor deficits in children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome, Movement Disorders, 21: 12, 2082 – 2089.  Impact Factor: 3.3

Sobin C, Kiley-Brabeck K, Dale K, Monk S, Khuri J, Karayiorgou M. (2006) Olfactory disorder in  children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome, Pediatrics, 118, 3, pp. 697 - 703.  Impact Factor: 5.0

Sobin C, Kiley-Brabeck K, Karayiorgou M. (2005) Associations between prepulse inhibition and visual executive attention in children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome, Molecular Psychiatry, 10 (6), 553-562.  (advance online publication, November 2004).  Impact Factor: 11.8

Sobin C, Kiley-Brabeck K, Karayiorgou M. (2005) Lower pre-pulse inhibition in children with the 22q11 deletion syndrome, American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 1090 - 1099.  Impact Factor: 8.3
   
Contact Information    

Email: casobin@utep.edu



Phone: 1-915-747-8485
Fax: 1-915-747-6553

103 Psychology Building
Department of Psychology
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso TX, 79968