Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, PhD

Research Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Department of Neuroscience

Classification:

Faculty

Research Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (SOM)

Classification:

Faculty

• PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin

[2021]

• Valencia GN, Khoo S, Wong T, Ta J, Hou B, Barsalou LW, Hazen K, Lin HH, Wang S, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Frum CA, Lewis JW. (2021). Chinese-English bilinguals show linguistic-perceptual links in the brain associating short spoken phrases with corresponding real-world natural action sounds by semantic category. Lang Cogn Neurosci. 36(6):773-790. doi: 10.1080/23273798.2021.1883073. Epub 2021 Feb 17. PMID: 34568509
• Csonka M, Mardmomen N, Webster PJ, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Frum C, Lewis JW. (2021). Meta-Analyses Support a Taxonomic Model for Representations of Different Categories of Audio-Visual Interaction Events in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex Commun. 2(1):tgab002. doi: 10.1093/texcom/tgab002. eCollection 2021. PMID: 33718874

[2020]

• Van Dam NT, van Vugt M, Vago DR, Schmalzl L, Saron CD, Olendzki A, Meissner T, Lazar SW, Gorchov J, Fox KCR, Field BA, Britton W, Brefczynski-Lewis J, Meyer DE. (2020). Letter to the Editor: Miscommunicating Mindfulness. Perspect Psychol Sci. 5(5):1289-1290. doi: 10.1177/1745691620924057. Epub 2020 Aug 4. PMID: 32750262
• JA Brefczynski-Lewis (2020). Human neuroimaging-based connections between stress, cardiovascular disease and depression. Cardiovascular Implications of Stress and Depression, 141-173.
• Talkington WJ, Donai J, Kadner AS, Layne ML, Forino A, Wen S, Gao S, Gray MM, Ashraf AJ, Valencia GN, Smith BD, Khoo SK, Gray SJ, Lass N, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Engdahl S, Graham D, Frum CA, Lewis JW. (2020). Electrophysiological Evidence of Early Cortical Sensitivity to Human Conspecific Mimic Voice as a Distinct Category of Natural Sound. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 63(10):3539-3559. doi: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00063. Epub 2020 Sep 16. PMID: 32936717

[2019]

• CE Bauer, JW Lewis, J Brefczynski-Lewis, C Frum, MM Schade, MW Haut, HE Montgomery-Downs. (2019). Breastfeeding Duration Is Associated with Regional, but Not Global, Differences in White Matter Tracts. Brain Sciences 10 (1), 19.
• A Stolin, G Jaliparthi, RR Raylman, J Brefczynski-Lewis, S Majewski, J Qi, K Gong, S Dolinsky. (2019). Evaluation of Hamamatsu PET imaging modules for dedicated TOF-capable scanners. IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences 3 (6), 634-639

[2018]

• Van Dam NT, van Vugt MK, Vago DR, Schmalzl L, Saron CD, Olendzki A, Meissner T, Lazar SW, Gorchov J, Fox KCR, Field BA, Britton WB, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Meyer DE. (2018). Reiterated Concerns and Further Challenges for Mindfulness and Meditation Research: A Reply to Davidson and Dahl.. Perspect Psychol Sci.(1):66-69.
• Van Dam NT, van Vugt MK, Vago DR, Schmalzl L, Saron CD, Olendzki A, Meissner T, Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Gorchov J, Fox KCR, Field BA, Britton WB, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Meyer DE. (2018).  Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation.. Perspect Psychol Sci. (1):36-61.
• Lewis JW, Silberman MJ, Donai JJ, Frum CA, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, (2018).  Hearing and orally mimicking different acoustic-semantic categories of natural sound engage distinct left hemisphere cortical regions..  Brain Lang. 183:64-78.
• Q Huang, C Bauer, A Stolin, T Wuest, S Melroy, S Majewski, JA Brefczynski-Lewis, B Kundu. (2018). Dynamic FDG brain PET imaging using Helmet_PET: Model corrected blood input function to compute FDG uptake rate during an ambulatory upright task. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 59 (supplement 1), 427-427

 [2017]

• Van Dam NT, van Vugt MK, Vago DR, Schmalzl L, Saron CD, Olendzki A, Meissner T, Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Gorchov J, Fox KCR, Field BA, Britton WB, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Meyer DE. (2017) Reiterated concerns and further challenges for mindfulness and meditation research: a reply to Davidson and Dahl. Perspect Psychol Sci, Sep 1: 1745691617727529. PMID: 29016240.
• Melroy S, Bauer C, McHugh M, Carden G, Stolin A, Majewski S, Brefczynski-Lewis J, Wuest T. (2017) Development and design of next-generation head-mounted Ambulatory Microdose Positron-Emission Tomography (AM-PET) system. Sensors (Basel), 17(5). pii: E1164. PMCID: PMC5470909
• Brefczynski-Lewis J. (2017) Auditory object perception: A neurobiological model and prospective review. Neuropsychologia, pii: S0028-3932(17)30163-X.

[2016]

• Bauer CE, Brefczynski-Lewis J, Marano G, Mandich MB, Stolin A, Martone P, Lewis JW, Jaliparthi G, Raylman R, Majewski S. (2016) Concept of an upright wearable positron emission tomography imager in humans. Brain Behav., 6(9):e00530. PMCID: PMC5036439
• Gong K, Majewski S, Kinahan PE, Harrison RL, Elston BF, Manjeshwar R, Dolinsky S, Stolin AV, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Qi J. Designing a compact high performance brain PET scanner-simulation study. Phys Med Biol (2016). 61(10): 3681-97. PMCID: PMC4863179.
• S Melroy, M McHugh, G Carden, J Brefczynski-Lewis, T Wuest. (2016). Engineering Design for Mobile Brain Imaging Helmet—AM-PET. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Proceedings 1 (2), 13.

[2015]

• P Kinahan, S Majewski, B Elston, R Harrison, J Qi, R Manjeshwar, S Dolinsky, A Stolin, J Brefczynski-Lewis. (2015). Design considerations for AMPET: the ambulatory micro-dose, wearable PET brain imager. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 56 (supplement 3), 1540-1540.

[2013]

• Puce A, McNeely ME, Berrebi ME, Thompson JC, Hardee J, Brefczynski-Lewis JA. Multiple faces elicit augmented neural activity. Front Hum Neurosci(2013) 7: 282. PMCID: PMC3682123

[2011]

• Lewis JW, Frum C, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Talkington WJ, Walker NA, Rapuano KM, Kovach AL. Cortical network differences in the sighted versus early blind for recognition of human-produced action sounds. Hum Brain Mapp(2011) 32(12): 2241-55. PMCID: PMC3517890
• Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Berrebi ME, McNeely ME, Prostko AL, Puce A. In the blink of an eye: neural responses elicited to viewing the eye blinks of another individual. Front Hum Neurosci (2011) 5:68. PMCID: PMC3151614

[2009]

• Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Datta R, Lewis JW, DeYoe EA. The topography of visuospatial attention as revealed by a novel visual field mapping technique. J Cogn Neurosci (2009) 21(7): 1447-60. PMCID: PMC2749240
• Brefczynski-Lewis J, Lowitszch S, Parsons M, Lemieux S, Puce A.Audiovisual non-verbal dynamic faces elicit converging fMRI and ERP responses. Brain Topogr (2009) 21(3-4): 193-206. PMCID: PMC2707948
• Lewis JW, Talkington WJ, Walker NA, SPirou GA, Jajosky A, Frum C,Brefczynski-Lewis JA. Human cortical organization for processing vocalizations indicates representation of harmonic structure as a signal attribute. J Neurosci (2009) 29(7): 2283-96. PMCID: PMC2774090

[2008]

• Lutz A, Brefczysnki-Lewis J, Johnstone T, Davidson RJ. Regulation of the neural circuitry of emothion by compassion meditation: effects of meditative expertise. PLoS One (2008) 3(3): e1897. PMCID: PMC2267490

Center for Neuroscience

My main research focus is on testing how compassion meditation training can help relieve stress, especially the stress of difficult interpersonal relations. In my most recent grant, I have developed a Smartphone app to assist in applying meditation techniques for daily stress relief, and will be examining the neural, physiological and behavioral changes that may come from such training.

I serve as the neuroimaging liaison for the Center for Advanced Imaging. Anyone looking to develop a reseach project involving MRI, PET, EEG, or TMS can feel free to contact me. I can help provide training in these techniques and the analyses that are involved, assist with experimental design and IRB, and help connect people with others who may have similar interests. Current CAI projects include studies on working memory, mindfulness, trust, cognition in neonates, structual analyses of airways in pediatric sleep disorders, stroke studies in humans and animal models, PET changes with depression, testing a stand along or MRI insert brain-dedicated PET helmet, and auditory processing in disorded populations.We have a weekly group of neuroimagers that meets at Mondays at 4:00 in the CAI conference room.