The Translational Research in Experimental Therapeutics (TREAT) Lab is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Department of Psychology. The lab focuses on negative symptoms (reduced motivation, experience of pleasure, speech output, and facial expressions) since these symptoms are some of the most functionally disabling symptoms of severe mental illnesses (e.g., psychosis) and available psychosocial and pharmacological treatments do little to improve these symptoms. Thus, the TREAT lab uses a two-pronged experimental therapeutics approach that focuses on 1) elucidating the neural, behavioral, and decision-making factors that cause and sustain negative symptoms and 2) rapidly translating that information into the development of novel digital, mobile health (mHealth), and psychosocial treatments for negative symptoms for youth and adults on the severe mental illness-spectrum. The TREAT lab uses a multi-modal approach, integrating neuroscience methods (EEG, fMRI, eye tracking) and ambulatory assessments (EMA, passive sensing) to better elucidate, assess, and treat the processes underlying negative symptoms across the severe mental illness-spectrum.
