Aarti Nair, PhD

Assistant Professor, Psychology

Contact Information

Email anair@llu.edu
Phone 909-558-8707

Department of Psychology
Loma Linda University, Central Building, Annex #155
11130 Anderson St., Loma Linda, CA  92350

Social Media

Facebook NAIIR Lab

    Faculty Research Lab

    Neurodevelopmental Applied Imaging Intervention Research Lab

    The NAIIR lab projects focus on examining neural mechanisms underlying treatment outcomes for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders.

    Visit Lab Website
    Dr. Aarti Nair acquiring an MRI scan

    Degrees and Certifications

    • PhD, Neuropsychology - San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, 2015
    • MA, Clinical/Community Psychology - University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2008
    • Certified Provider, Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Adolescents
    • Certified Provider, Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Adults

    Areas of Specialization

    • Autism spectrum disorder
    • Early-onset psychosis
    • Neuroimaging
    • Social cognition
    • Translational neuroscience
    • Pediatric neuropsychology

    Current Research Projects

    Professional Licenses and Memberships

    • Clinical Psychologist, CA Board of Psychology #29658
    • International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)
    • International Neuropsychology Society (INS)
    • Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)

    Recent Publications and Presentations

    Publications

    • Iwamoto, B. K., Neece, C. L., Nair, A., Rockwood, N. J., Fenning, R. M., Krantz, M. L., & Van Dyk, T. R. (2023). Exploring the Bidirectional Relationships between Child Sleep, Child Behavior, and Parenting Stress in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102197 
    • Nair A, Jalal R, Liu J, Tsang T, McDonald NM, Jackson L, Ponting C, Jeste SS, Bookheimer SY, Dapretto M. (2021). Altered Thalamocortical Connectivity in 6-Week-Old Infants at High Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cereb Cortex. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhab078. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33866373.
    • Jalal R, Nair A, Lin A, Eckfeld A, Kushan L, Zinberg J, Karlsgodt KH, Cannon TD, Bearden CE. (2021). Social cognition in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and idiopathic developmental neuropsychiatric disorders. J Neurodev Disord,13(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s11689-021-09363-4. PubMed PMID: 33863277; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8052741.
    • Nair, A., Jolliffe, M., Lograsso, Y. S., Bearden, C. (2020). A review of altered default mode network connectivity and its association with social cognition in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and early-onset schizophrenia. Frontiers in Psychiatry. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00614.
    • Nair, A., Eyer, J. C., & Faust, M. E. (2020). Neurophysiologic evidence for increased retrieval suppression among negative ruminators. Brain and Behavior, 10(9), e01748. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1748.
    • Abbott, A.E., Linke, A., Nair, A., Jahedi, A., Alba, L., Keown, C.L., Fishman, I., Müller, R.A. (2018). Repetitive behaviors in autism are linked to imbalance in corticostriatal connectivity: A functional connectivity MRI study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.

    Presentations

    • Jalal, R., Nair, A., O’Neill, J., Gutierrez, H., Laurette, K., Rshtouni, M., Karlsgodt, K., Bearden, C. E., Bartnik- Olson, B. GABA alterations associated with social cognitions deficits in youth with autism spectrum disorder compared to early-onset psychosis. Poster presentation at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada, June 3rd -6th, 2023.
    • Mahale, M., Jalal, R., Gutierrez, H., Laulette, K., Rshtouni., Bearden, Carrie. E., Karlsgodt, K., Nair, A. Medial prefrontal cortex connectivity differences in youth with autism spectrum disorder compared to early-onset psychosis. Poster presentation at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 3rd-6th, 2023.
    • Jalal, R., Mahale, M., Gutierrez, H., Laurette, K., Rshtouni, M., Bearden, C. E., Karlsgodt, K., Nair, A. Altered fusiform connectivity underlying face processing deficits in youth with autism spectrum disorder compared to early-onset psychosis. Poster presentation at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 3rd-6th, 2023.
    • Callaci, C., Van Dyk, T. R., Nair, A., Fenning, R. M., & Neece, C. L. Parent-based stress reduction interventions and their impact on sleep problems in young children with ASD. Poster presentation at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 3rd-6th, 2023.
    • Nair, A., Callaci, C., Van Dyk, T. R., & Neece, C. L. The association between sensory processing difficulties and sleep problems in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Poster presentation at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, May 3rd-6th, 2023.
    • Mital, S., Callaci, C., Van Dyk, T. R., Neece, C. L., Nair, A. Investigating the impact of co-morbid autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on sleep and executive function. Poster presentation at the Western Psychological Association Annual Conference, Riverside, CA, April 27th-30th, 2023. 
    • Aghbashian, D.M., Jalal, R., Gutierrez, H., Verma, N., Laulette, K., Morrell, H.M., Bearden, C.E., Karlsgodt, K.H., & Nair, A. Moderating impact of trauma on brain regions underlying social cognition in early-onset psychosis. Poster presentation at the International Neuropsychological Society Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, February 1st-4th, 2023.
    • Verma, N., Jalal, R., Gutierrez, H., Aghbashian, D.M., Laulette, K., Rockwood, N., Bearden, C.E., Karlsgodt, K.H., & Nair, A. Therapy and medication use moderating neural alterations underlying social cognition performance in youth with autism and psychosis. Poster presentation at the International Neuropsychological Society Annual Conference, San Diego, California, February 1st-4th, 2023.
    • Jalal, R., Preston, A., Gutierrez, H., Rshtouni, M., Bearden, C.E., Karlsgodt, K., Nair, A. Default mode network connectivity differences in youth with autism spectrum disorder compared to early-onset psychosis. Poster presentation at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas, May 11th-13th, 2022.
    • Iwamoto, B. K., Krantz, M. L., Neece, C. L., Nair, A., Rockwood, N. J., Gutierrez, H., Fenning, R. M., Van Dyk, T. R. Exploring the bidirectional relationships between child sleep, child behavior, and parenting stress in families of children with ASD. Poster presentation at the Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, April 7th-9th, 2022.
    • Krantz, M., Chan, N., Feghali, P., Sanner, C., Neece, C., Fenning, R., Nair, A., Van Dyk, T., Understanding sleep difficulties among children with autism spectrum disorder from underserved populations: Practical considerations for clinicians. Poster Presentation at the Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, Virtual, April 8th-9th, 2021.
    • Nair, A., Jalal, R., Lawrence, K.E., Jung, J., Rshtouni, M., Karlsgodt, K., Dapretto, M., Bearden, C.E. Triple-network connectivity differences in youth with autism compared to early-onset psychosis. Accepted for poster presentation at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Meeting, Montreal, June 23–July 3, 2020.
    • Nair, A., Lograsso, S., Wood, E., O’Neill, J., Dapretto, M., Bearden, C.E. Regional alteration of inhibitory and excitatory neurometabolites in autism spectrum disorder and its relationship to social cognition. Accepted for poster presentation at International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, May 6th-9th, 2020.
    • Jalal, R., Nair, A., Jung, J., Cummings, K., Rshtouni, M., Karlsgodt, K., Dapretto, M., Bearden, C.E. Divergent connectivity patterns in a social hub region in youth with autism spectrum disorder compared to early-onset psychosis. Accepted for poster presentation at International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, May 6th-9th, 2020.
    • Jalal, R., Nair, A., Jolliffe, M., Lograsso, S., Lin, A., Eckfeld, A., Kushan, L., Bearden, C. Neurocognitive profile of social skills impairment in individuals with 22q11.2 mutations. Oral presentation at International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting, New York City, NY, Feb 20th-23rd, 2019.
    • Eckfeld, A., Kushan, L., Lin, A., Nair, A., Bearden, C.E. Neurocognitive & Social Cognitive profiles of early-onset psychosis and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: Relationship to functional outcome. Poster presentation at International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting, New York City, NY, Feb 20th-23rd, 2019.
    • Nair, A., Jalal, R., Liu, J., Tsang, T., Jackson, L., Jeste, S., Bookheimer, S.Y., Dapretto, M. Disrupted thalamic-occipital connectivity in six-week-old infants at high and low Rrsk for ASD and its relation to behavioral phenotypes. Poster presentation at International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Rotterdam, Netherlands, May 9th-12th, 2018.