Mauricio Garcia-Barrera

Understanding executive functioning has become a research goal and a passion for me. In a broad scope, the elusive nature of this construct intrigues me, thus I have found myself emerged in the study of human behavior and cognitive processing that is "executive" in nature.

Most of my current research is conducted at CORTEX, where we are: (1) developing a theoretical and evidence-based model of executive functioning that we call INTERACT; (2) developing ecological, psychometric and cross-culturally valid instruments to assess executive functioning; (3) exploring the associations between exercise, concussion history and executive functions; and (4) a line of new community-engaged research examining the intersections between brain injury, mental health and addictions. I serve as an Associate Editor in the APA journal Psychological Assessment.

Interests

• Clinical Neuropsychology

• Executive Functioning

• Sports Concussions

Recent Publications

* NOTE: Underlined are the names of students leading or contributing to the publications

Bonnieux, J., VanderZwaag, B., Premji, Z., Garcia-Romeu, A., Garcia-Barrera, M. (2023). Psilocybin’s effects on cognition and creativity: A scoping review. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 37(7): 635-648. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811231179801

Agate, F. T., Gordon, I., Karr, J. E., & Garcia-Barrera, M. A. (2023). Sport expertise and physical exercise are associated with “hot” executive functioning: An electrophysiological examination of reward processing in collegiate athletes. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 45(2), 182-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2023.2219022

Maja, R. A., Kilshaw, R. E., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., & Karr, J. E. (2022). Current posttraumatic stress symptoms mediate the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and executive functions. Psychological Reports, 125(2), 763-786. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120979690

Ames, M. E., Robillard, C., Turner, B. J., Garcia-Barrera, M., Rush, J., & Craig, S. G. (2022). Associations between physical activity, affect regulation difficulties, and mental health among Canadian adolescents at two different points of the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychology & Health, 1 -17

Garcia-Barrera, M. A. (2022). Mis Conversaciones sobre la Función Ejecutiva con el Gran Alfredo Ardila. In N. Ocampo-Barba (Ed.), Alfredo Ardila: Neuropsicología desde y hacia Latinoamérica (pp. 149-191). Instituto de Neurociencias Comportamentales, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Bolivia.

Contreras, A., Sánchez, J. P., Dougall, N., Milligan, K., Doucette, M., Agate, T., Webber, A.  & Garcia-Barrera, M. A. (2021) Las Funciones Ejecutivas como Predictor del Estado de Ánimo en Adultos Mayores: Un Estudio en Canadá. Revista Neuropsicología, Neuropsiquiatría y Neurociencias, 21(3), 19-39. http://revistaneurociencias.com/index.php/RNNN/article/view/150/115

Halliday, D. W., Kim, Y., MacDonald, S. W., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., Hundza, S. R., & Macoun, S. J. (2021). Intraindividual variability in executive and motor control tasks in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 43(6), 568-578. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2021.1965097

Karr, J. E., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., Marsh, J., Maxwell. B., Berkner, P. D., & Iverson, G. L. (2021). Preseason baseline neurocognitive performances and symptom reporting on ImPACT®: A comparison of adolescent student-athletes tested in Spanish and English. Journal of Athletic Training, 56(8), 879-886. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-0345.20

Liu, S., Lithopoulos, A., Zhang, C. Q., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., & Rhodes, R. E. (2021). Personality and perceived stress during COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the mediating role of perceived threat and efficacy. Personality and individual differences, 168(1), 110351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110351

Karr, J. E., Kibby, M. Y., Jagger-Rickels, A. C., & Garcia-Barrera, M. A. (2021). Sensitivity and Specificity of an Executive Function Screener at Identifying Children with ADHD and Reading Disability. Journal of Attention Disorders, 25(1), 134-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054718763878  

Doucette, M. M., Du Plessis, S., Webber, A. M., Whalen, C., & Garcia-Barrera, M. A. (2020). In it to win it: competitiveness, concussion knowledge and nondisclosure in athletes. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 49(2), 194-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2020.1807886

Rhodes, R. E., Liu, S., Lithopoulos, A., Zhang, C. Q., & Garcia‐Barrera, M. A. (2020). Correlates of Perceived Physical Activity Transitions during the COVID‐19 Pandemic among Canadian Adults. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 12(4), 1157–1182. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12236

Silveira, K., Garcia-Barrera, M.A. & Smart, C.M. (2020). Neuropsychological Impact of Trauma-Related Mental Illnesses: A Systematic Review of Clinically Meaningful Results. Neuropsychology Review, 30(3), 310–344, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-020-09444-6

Snowden, T., Reid, H., Kennedy, S., Kenny, R. A., McQuarrie, A., Stuart-Hill, L., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., Gawryluk, J., & Christie, B. R. (2020). Heading in the right direction: A critical review of studies examining the effects of heading in soccer players. Journal of Neurotrauma, 38(2): 169–188. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2020.7130

Karr, J. E., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., Holdnack, J. A., & Iverson, G. L. (2020). The Other Side of the Bell Curve: Multivariate Base Rates of High Scores on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 26(4), 382–393, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1355617719001218

Iverson, G. L., Karr, J. E., Terry, D. P., Garcia-Barrera, M. A., Holdnack, J. A., Ivins, B. J., & Silverberg, N. D. (2020). Developing an Executive Functioning Composite Score for Research and Clinical Trials. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 35(3), 312–325.https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acz070