Dr. Takakuni Suzuki and the INSPIRE lab will be moving to the University of Tulsa, starting August 2023!

The INSPIRE lab investigates the transdiagnostic and dimensional nature of psychopathology using multiple data collection and analytic methods. We are particularly interested in determining the emotional and social processes that underlie the difficulties experienced by individuals with psychosis spectrum disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorders) and personality disorders, to identify areas that can be treated or trained to improve day-to-day functioning. 

Traditionally, psychopathology has been defined within a categorical model, using labels that you may have heard, such as depression, schizophrenia, and personality disorder. However, research consistently shows that there are no clear boundaries across these categorical disorders and that there are a lot of overlaps across them (transdiagnostic). Further, these overlaps are better characterized as extreme versions of normative experiences that everybody experiences (dimensional). Like any human experience, psychopathology is a very complex experience, which no one method can sufficiently capture. Therefore, we use different methods to gather data bout people's experiences, particularly relying on questionnaires to understand subjective experiences and also electroencephalogram (EEG) to understand the brain processes. We also gather information at different times, in the laboratory and in their daily lives (ecological momentary assessment; EMA). We also various analytic methods to understand the nuances of people's experiences and to take the nature of the data into account. While our current research focuses on assessing and understanding the experiences of the participants, we ultimately aim to translate these findings into treatment or training programs to help improve the functioning of individuals affected by various forms of psychopathology.