Rachel Spooner, PhD, is the Director of the Translational Motor Imaging Laboratory at the Institute for Human Neuroscience. Dr. Spooner is a clinical translational neuroscientist interested in characterizing the neurobiological underpinnings of cognitive-motor dysfunction across the lifespan. Her work utilizes a systems biology approach combined with advanced neuroimaging and behavioral analysis techniques to answer her questions including multimodal neuroimaging with MEG and MRI, invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation, quantitative biological assays and comprehensive behavioral, and clinical testing. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications featured in premier outlets such as
PNAS, Brain Behavior and Immunology, npj Parkinsons's Disease, and Cerebral Cortex.
During her PhD at UNMC, her work was among the first to demonstrate how systemic levels of mitochondrial redox environments and inflammation are related to the neural oscillatory dynamics serving sensorimotor control and cognitive ability in
humans. During her postdoc, she utilized combined MEG and deep brain stimulation (DBS) recordings in individuals with movement disorders to identify the neural markers related to optimal DBS stimulation parameters such as the intensity and directionality of current administered in the brain and how those relate to changes in motor symptoms in clinical populations. Her research lab is currently focused on leveraging these systems biology, neurophysiology and neuromodulation techniques, with the ultimate goal of improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy for age- and disease-related functional decline in the future.
Education/Training
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow 2021-2024
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), NRW, Germany
- Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- Award Title:
Quantitative Characterization of Neural and Kinematic Symptom Spectrums in Parkinson's Disease
- Ph.D. in Neuroscience 2016-2021
- Dissertation Title:
Neural Oscillatory Activity Serving Sensorimotor Control is Regulated by the Mitochondrial Redox Environment in Health and Disease
- University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
- Bachelor of Arts in Biology, minors in Chemistry and Spanish 2012-2015
- Thesis Title:
Cognitive Impairments in Parkinson's Disease: The Role of the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
- Central College, Pella, IA, USA
Research Interests
- Aging
- Sensorimotor function
- Cognitive neuroscience
- MEG
- Neuromodulation
- Movement disorders
- Mitochondrial redox biology
- Inflammation
Select Recent Publications
Spooner RK, Hizli BJ, Bahners BH, Schnitzler A, Florin E. Modulation of DBS-induced cortical responses and movement by the directionality and magnitude of current administered. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2024 Mar 8;10(1):53. doi: 10.1038/s41531-024-00663-9. PMID: 38459031; PMCID: PMC10923868.
Spooner RK, Bahners BH, Schnitzler A, Florin E. DBS-evoked cortical responses index optimal contact orientations and motor outcomes in Parkinson's disease. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2023 Mar 11;9(1):37. doi: 10.1038/s41531-023-00474-4. PMID: 36906723; PMCID: PMC10008535.
Spooner RK, Taylor BK, Ahmad IM, Dyball K, Emanuel K, O'Neill J, Kubat M, Fox HS, Bares SH, Stauch KL, Zimmerman MC, Wilson TW. Clinical markers of HIV predict redox-regulated neural and behavioral function in the sensorimotor system. Free Radic Biol Med. 2024 Feb 20;212:322-329. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2023.12.027. Epub 2023 Dec 22. PMID: 38142954; PMCID: PMC11161132.
Spooner RK, Taylor BK, Ahmad IM, Dyball K, Emanuel K, O'Neill J, Kubat M, Swindells S, Fox HS, Bares SH, Stauch KL, Zimmerman MC, Wilson TW. Mitochondrial redox environments predict sensorimotor brain-behavior dynamics in adults with HIV. Brain Behav Immun. 2023 Jan;107:265-275. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.10.004. Epub 2022 Oct 19. PMID: 36272499; PMCID: PMC10590193.
Spooner RK, Wilson TW. Spectral specificity of gamma-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation over motor cortex during sequential movements. Cereb Cortex. 2023 Apr 25;33(9):5347-5360. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhac423. PMID: 36368895; PMCID: PMC10152093.
Spooner RK, Taylor BK, Ahmad IM, Dyball KN, Emanuel K, Fox HS, Stauch KL, Zimmerman MC, Wilson TW. Neural oscillatory activity serving sensorimotor control is predicted by superoxide-sensitive mitochondrial redox environments. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Oct 26;118(43):e2104569118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2104569118. PMID: 34686594; PMCID: PMC8639326.
