Professor
Contact
Email: dawnbowers@phhp.ufl.edu
Office: 352-273-6152
Lab: 352-733-2459
Links
Education
Ph.D. 1978, University of Florida
Post-Doc 1979, Behavioral Neurology, University of Florida
Research Focus
The dominant research theme of my research is the neuropsychology of cognition and emotion, with specific emphasis on the role of limbic, basal ganglia, and cortical systems in mediating different aspects of emotional behavior. The impetus for my research is twofold: a) to develop a better understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie emotional and cognitive changes in older adults, including those with dopaminergic depletion disorders (Parkinson disease) and other age-related neurodegeneration; and b) to develop evidence-based treatment approaches for addressing cognitive and emotional changes in these populations. Current research focuses on psychophysiological and electrophysiological signatures of apathy and depression, emotion regulation and executive function, and the interactive effects of cognitive training and novel therapies (e.g., NIR, mindfulness) on mood and cognition. My Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory uses a variety of tools (startle, ERP, pupillometry, computational modeling) to facilitate hypothesis-driven research and we collaborate with imaging experts. I have been a funded researcher for many years including support for randomized clinical trials, one for treatment of apathy using rTMS, another for treatment of masked faces in Parkinson disease using face digitizing approaches, and another for combined cognitive training-exercise intervention with older adults. I am currently partnering with small business for the development of telehealth interventions for mood/cognition in older adults and those with Parkinson disease.
Clinical Focus
Dr. Bowers is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist (ABPP/CN) in the department’s Psychology Clinic, located within the UF Health Science Center. She directs two offsite interdisciplinary clinics, where the neuropsychology service is embedded with other providers ( neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry) to provide comprehensive one-stop shopping to patients with a variety of disorders (e.g., dementia subtypes, subcortical diseases, focal lesions, TBI, OCD, Tourettes, conversion disorder, sequelae of medical illness). Most candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS) are seen through her clinics. Her approach to neuropsychological assessment is focused, eclectic, and flexible. As lead neuropsychologist for UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration she oversees the neuropsychology module of the INFORM database, one of the largest prospective clinical research databases for movement disorder patients in the world. As part of her clinical teaching, Dr. Bowers supervises graduate students, interns, and post-doctoral fellows as they rotate through her clinic.
Courses Taught
Adult Neuropsychological Assessment
Human Higher Brain Function
Advanced Practicum in Neuropsychology
Specialty Practicum in Movement Disorders
Specialty Practicum in Interdisciplinary Cognitive Disorders and Dementia
Awards & Honors
- Fellow, American Psychological Association, Division 40, 2012
- Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology, American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology/ABPP
- Licensed Psychologist, State of Florida (PY3179)
- University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, 2006-2009
- Paul Satz Career Mentoring Award, International Neuropsychological Association, 2014
- CHP Teaching Award, 2014; CHP Research Award, 2014
- Edith Kaplan Award, Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society, 2015
- Doctoral Mentoring Award, College of Public Health and Health Professions, 2015
- Board of Directors, International Neuropsychology Society, 2012-2015
Key Publications
*students in italics
Bowers, D., Jones, J., Dietz, J. (2014). Assessment of emotion, mood, and affect associated with neurologic disorders. In J. Synder, Nussbaum, Hamsher, K, and Parsons, M. (Eds). Pocket Handbook of Neuropsychological Assessment. Washington DC, American Psychological Press.
Jones, J., Marsiske, M., Okun, M.S., Bowers, D. (2015). The latent growth-curve analysis reveals that worsening Parkinson disease quality of life is driven by depression not apathy. Neuropsychology, 29 (4), 603-609.
Morishita, T., Okun, M.S., Jones, J., Foote, K.D., Bowers, D. (2014). Cognitive declines after DBS are likely attributable to more than caudate penetration and lead location. Brain, May;137(Pt 5):e274
Dietz, J., Jones, J., Bradley, M., Okun, M.S., Perlstein, W., Bowers, D. (2013). The late positive potential, emotion, and apathy in Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychologia, 51, 960-966.
Zahodne, L, Marsiske, M., Okun, M.S., Rodriguez, R., Malaty, I, Bowers, D. (2012) Mood and motor symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease: a Multivariate latent growth curve modeling. Neuropsychology, 26, 71-80. PMID: 22142359
Mikos, A., Bowers, D., Noecker, A., McIntyre, C, Won, M., Chaturvedi, A., Foote, K.D., Okun, M.S. ( 2011) Patient-Specific analysis of the relationship between the volume of tissue activated during DBS and verbal fluency. Neuroimage. 54S1, S238-S246.
Miller, K.M., Okun, M.S., Marsiske, M., Fennell, E.F., & Bowers, D. (2009). Startle reflex hyporeactivity in Parkinson’s disease: an emotion-specific or an arousal modulated deficit? Neuropsychologia, 47 (8-9), 1917-27.
Bowers, D., Miller, K., Mikos, A., Kirsch-Darrow, L., Springer, S., Fernandez, H., Foote, K., Okun, M.S. (2006). Startling facts about emotion in Parkinson disease: Blunted reactivity to aversive stimuli. Brain, 129, 3345-3365.
Kirsch-Darrow, L., Fernandez, H., Okun, M., Bowers, D. (2006). Dissociating apathy and depression in Parkinsons’s disease. Neurology. 67(1), 20-27
Bowers, D., Miller, K., Bosch, W., Gokcay, D., Springer, U., & Okun, M.S.. (2006). Faces of emotion in Parkinson’s disease: Digitizing the moving face during voluntary expressions. Journal of International Neuropsychological Society. 12, 1276-1273.
Bowers, D., Bauer, R.M., and Heilman, K. (1993). The nonverbal affect lexicon: Theoretical perspectives from neuropsychological studies of affect perception. Neuropsychology, 7(4), 433-444.