Orma Ravindranath
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About Orma
Ravindranath's research focuses on using neuroimaging techniques to study the role of puberty and hormones in adolescent neurocognitive and emotional development. Overarching themes in Ravindranath's writings include molecular mechanisms, pubertal development, and the intersection of cognitive and emotional development. Ravindranath has provided clinical expertise for Antelope Recovery, a startup dedicated to increasing mental healthcare access for rural adolescents and completed a clinical internship at Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, a community health center focused on increasing healthcare access for Native Hawaiians and other underserved groups on the island of O'ahu.
Contributions
Publications
Reviews existing neurodevelopmental research as it applies to adolescents’ ability to make decisions regarding gender-affirming care. Research shows that while adolescence is a time of peak risk-taking behavior and impulsivity, neurocognitive systems supporting adult-level decisions are available given deliberative processes that minimize the influence of short-term rewards.
Explores how inhibitory control develops from adolescence into young adulthood, focusing on the roles of chronological age and pubertal maturation. Results suggest that while age-related brain maturation supports the development of inhibitory control, puberty significantly influences the effectiveness of cognitive control responses.
Investigates how brain connectivity affects adolescents' stress responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that greater stress reactivity to the COVID-19 pandemic in adults as compared to adolescents may be driven by maturation of brain connectivity which integrates stress response and emotional memory processing.
Investigates how the brain processes emotions and manages cognitive control during adolescence compared to adulthood. Results suggest that cognitive control in emotional states improves and that adolescent cognitive control may be more affected by emotional states due to difficulty differentiating between different emotional states.