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Marty G. Woldorff

Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences
Box 90999, Ctr. for Cog. Neuroscience, Durham, NC 27708-0999
B243B LSRC, Ctr. for Cog. Neuroscience, Durham, NC 27708-0999

Overview


Dr. Woldorff's main research interest is in the cognitive neuroscience of attention. At each and every moment of our lives, we are bombarded by a welter of sensory information coming at us from a myriad of directions and through our various sensory modalities -- much more than we can fully process. We must continuously select and extract the most important information from this welter of sensory inputs. How the human brain accomplishes this is one of the core challenges of modern cognitive neuroscience. Dr. Woldorff uses a combination of electrophysiological (ERP, MEG) and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) methods to study the time course, functional neuroanatomy, and mechanisms of attentional processes. This multimethodological approach is directed along several main lines of research: (1) The influence of attention on sensory and perceptual processing; (2) Cognitive and attentional control mechanisms; (3) The role of attention in multisensory environments; (4) The interactive relationship between attention and reward; and (5) The role of attention in perceptual awareness.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2021 - Present Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Professor in Neurobiology · 2008 - Present Neurobiology, Basic Science Departments
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2019 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience · 1999 - Present Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Affiliate of the Center for Brain Imaging and Analysis · 2007 - Present Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Institutes and Centers
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2008 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2018 - Present Duke Science & Society, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

Recent Publications


Associations between anaesthetic dose-adjusted intraoperative EEG alpha power, processing speed, and postoperative delirium: analysis of data from three prospective studies.

Journal Article Br J Anaesth · April 10, 2025 BACKGROUND: We previously have shown that low intraoperative EEG alpha power is associated with impaired preoperative cognition, a delirium risk factor, and that intraoperative anaesthetic-dose-adjusted EEG bispectral index values were associated with a fo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Electrical brain activations in preadolescents during a probabilistic reward-learning task reflect cognitive processes and behavior strategies.

Journal Article Front Hum Neurosci · 2025 Both adults and children learn through feedback to associate environmental events and choices with reward, a process known as reinforcement learning (RL). However, tasks to assess RL-related neurocognitive processes in children have been limited. This stud ... Full text Link to item Cite

White matter and latency of visual evoked potentials during maturation: A miniature pig model of adolescent development.

Journal Article J Neurosci Methods · November 2024 BACKGROUND: Continuous myelination of cerebral white matter (WM) during adolescence overlaps with the formation of higher cognitive skills and the onset of many neuropsychiatric disorders. We developed a miniature-pig model of adolescent brain development ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Neurobiology Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Attentional Resilience in the Aging Brain

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2024 - 2029

Adaptive Neuromodulation of Working Memory Networks in Aging and Dementia

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2022 - 2027

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of California, San Diego · 1989 Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley · 1978 B.A.

External Links


Woldorff Lab website