Aaron Seitz

About

Aaron Seitz is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University, with additional affiliations in Physical Therapy, Human Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, as well as the Art and Design Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health. His research program aims to understand mechanisms of cognitive processes and to apply this knowledge for public benefit. His academic training includes a BA in theoretical mathematics, a PhD in computational neuroscience, and postdoctoral work in systems neuroscience and neuroimaging. His research has led to new insights regarding the roles of reinforcement, attention, multisensory interactions, and different brain systems in learning, as well as computational approaches to learning, translational neuroscience, and perceptual/cognitive enhancement. He utilizes a variety of methods, including psychophysical, physiological, imaging, pharmacological, genetic, and computational techniques, to study cognitively diverse populations ranging from individuals with cognitive deficits due to disease, injury, or development to neurotypical individuals and specialists such as radiologists and athletes. As the Director of the Brain Game Center for Mental Fitness and Well-being, Dr. Seitz employs ambulatory tools on mobile phones and tablets to reach larger and more diverse populations, aiming to understand cognitive diversity and create tools to measure function and personalize training based on individual needs.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Cognitive psychology
• Neuroscience
• Artificial Intelligence
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Simulation
• Mathematics
• Cognitive science

Selected publications

• Perceptual Learning: Policy Insights From Basic Research to Real-World Applications

  Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences · 2023 · 8 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Perceptual learning is the process by which experience alters how incoming sensory information is processed by the brain to give rise to behavior—it is critical for how humans educate children, train experts, treat diseases, and promote health and well-being throughout the lifespan. Knowledge of perceptual learning requires basic and applied research in humans and nonhuman animal models, which informs strategic targets for advancing applications. Commercial products to induce perceptual learning…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Connectome-based predictive modeling of grip strength: a marker of physical frailty

  Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2025-12-04 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Frailty is characterized by a persistent and progressive decline in functional capacity, leading to increased vulnerability to stressors and a heightened risk of adverse health outcomes, both physically and mentally. Despite frailty's prevalence in older adults, there is limited research on its neural substrates. Methods: In this study, we used connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) to find a linear relationship between task-based connectomes taken from tasks that involved simi…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Age-Related Differences in Comprehending Speech in Competition

  American Journal of Audiology · 2025-05-09 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  PURPOSE: The ability to discriminate speech with background noise decreases with age. This study examined the effect of masker type and spatial location in older and young adults. METHOD: Using Portable Automated Rapid Testing software on an iPad, participants were asked to understand target speech (always simulated at 0° azimuth) in the presence of speech or "garbled speech" maskers (simulated from 0°, 6°, or 45° azimuth spatial locations). Additionally, suprathreshold sensitivities to temporal…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Connectome-based predictive modelling predicts frailty levels in older adults

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-08-31 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Frailty is characterized by a persistent and progressive decline in physiological reserves, leading to increased vulnerability to stressors and a heightened risk of adverse health outcomes, both physically and mentally. Despite frailty’s prevalence in older adults, there is limited research on its neural substrates, especially using task-based brain functional connectivity. In this study, we used connectome-based predictive modelling (CPM) to find a linear relationship between task-base…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Remote sensory-cognitive assessment in children with autism: evaluating feasibility and performance outcomes

  PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · 2026-03-20

  preprintOpen access

  This study evaluated the feasibility of remotely administered, multi-session digital sensory-cognitive assessments in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Remote assessment in ASD presents challenges, including sustaining engagement across sessions, ensuring task comprehension, and maintaining data quality in home environments. Accordingly, this study quantified feasibility through task engagement and data integ-rity across a multi-domain assessment battery. A total of 121 children with…

  Publisher

Recent grants

• Understanding Mediating and Moderating Factors that Determine Transfer of Working Memory Training

  NIH · $387k · 2016–2021

• Efficient diagnostic tools to evaluate central auditory dysfunction

  NIH · $2.3M · 2016–2022

• Collaborative Research: Multisensory Perceptual Learning

  NSF · $239k · 2011–2014

Frequent coauthors

• Frederick J. Gallun

  149 shared

• David A. Eddins

  University of Central Florida

  116 shared

• Trevor Stavropoulos

  116 shared

• Eric C. Hoover

  University of Maryland, College Park

  112 shared

• Sittiprapa Isarangura

  Ramathibodi Hospital

  90 shared

• E. Sebastian Lelo de Larrea-Mancera

  Northeastern University

  54 shared

• Katherine N. Palandrani

  University of Maryland, College Park

  52 shared

• Susanne M. Jaeggi

  Northeastern University

  38 shared

Education

• B.A., Theoretical Mathematics

  Northeastern University

• Ph.D., Computational Neuroscience

  Northeastern University

• Other

  Systems Neuroscience and Neuroimaging

Similar researchers at Northeastern University

• Jonathan Peelleh-47
• Briony Swire-Thompsonh-25