Faculty Profile

University of Southern California, 1982

C.R. Hutcheson Professor, Human Development and Family Studies
Assistant Dean for Research, College of Human Sciences

Interests:

Cognitive modeling of perception, memory, and language as they relate to the underlying structure and neural circuitry of the human brain

Investigation of the specialized functions of the left and right cerebral hemispheres and how they serve as the neurological basis for individual differences in higher-order thinking processes, particularly, hemispheric differences as a function of handedness, sex, and mathematical giftedness

The study of neurologically brain-damaged individuals and how their impairments reveal fundamental principles of brain development and neuro-cognitive functioning.

Recent Publications:

Singh, H. & O'Boyle, M.W. (2004). Differences in interhemispheric interaction during global/local processing in mathematically gifted adolescents, average ability youth and college students. Neuropsychology, 18, 371-377.

Silk, T., Vance, A., Rinehart, N., Egan, G., O’Boyle, M.W., Bradshaw, J.L., & Cunnington, R. (2005). Decreased frontal-parietal activation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, combined type (ADHD-CT): An fMRI study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 282-283.

O'Boyle, M.W., Cunnington, R., Silk, T., Vaughan, D., Jackson, G., Syngeniotis, A., & Egan, G. (2005). Mathematically gifted male adolescents activate a unique brain network during mental rotation. Cognitive Brain Research, 25, 583-587.

Silk, T., Rinehart, N., Bradshaw, J.L., Tonge, B., Egan, G., O’Boyle, M.W., & Cunnington, R. 2006).  Visuospatial processing and the function of prefrontal-parietal networks in    Autism Spectrum Disorder: a functional MRI study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1440-1443.

Yingli, Li & O'Boyle, M.W. (2008). How sex, native language and college major relate to the cognitive strategies used during 3-D mental rotation. Psychological Record, 58, 289-302.

O'Boyle, M.W. (2008). Mathematically gifted children: Developmental brain characteristics and their prognosis for well-being. Roeper Review, 30, 181-186.

Recent Grants:

South Plains Mathematics Scholars. Co-PI, National Science Foundation, 2007-2012, $571,580.

Neuropsychological and cognitive sequelae of binge drinking. Co-PI, Texas Tech University-Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Joint Initiative Grant, 2008-2009, $253,342.

Modeling of the human brain through synergistic neuroimaging. Co-PI, Texas Tech University Research Development Grant, 2008-2010, $480,928.

Integrated STEM Initiative on the South Plains. Senior Personnel, National Science Foundation, 2009-2014, $977,962.