Aloha,

Aaron Nakamura belongs to the Brain & Behavior Laboratory at the Department of Psychology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. My work spans cognitive neuroscience, biopsychology, and translational psychiatry. Broadly speaking, I study how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape the brain and identity.

Growing up as a third culture kid, I consider California, Minnesota, the Philippines, Tokyo, and Hawaiʻi home. Prior to joining the Brain & Behavior Lab at UH Mānoa, I spent four years as a research technician at the University of Tokyo, where I got to play with my favorite toys; cutting-edge neuroimaging and neurophysiological tools such as fMRI and EEG. My academic journey began at Merced College, where I earned two Associate’s degrees in Psychology and Social & Behavioral Science, along with a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) credential. I then completed my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and earned a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) credential at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Alongside research, I have experience working with youth in a mental health treatment center, which continues to inform my interests in development, resilience, and the clinically meaningful translation of research.

My research interests have two distinct yet overarching goals. First, I examine how ACEs, particularly child maltreatment, shape brain structure and function, with downstream effects on cognition, perception, and behavior. Using fMRI and related approaches, I study how adversity alters attentional biases and threat detection not only in social contexts (e.g., faces) but also in object-based environments, including the development of generalized threat sensitivity and hypervigilance. Second, I investigate how people formulate and stabilize national, racial/ethnic, and cultural identities in response to these experiences, especially when childhood adversity intersects with a series of foster care placements or adoption-related transitions, including intercultural adoption, with the aim of mitigating identity crises and supporting healthy identity development. I am also broadly interested in second language acquisition, particularly learning L2 beyond the critical period and how environmental factors shape that process. Ultimately, the goal of my research is to clarify these mechanisms in ways that can inform prevention, resilience-building, and real-world interventions.

You may find me at:

Brain & Behavior Laboratory

Kotoboo.org

My mentoring statement