Dylan Spets, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Dylan Spets is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Spets received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Boston College under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Slotnick. Her doctoral research focused on using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate sex differences during visual long-term memory. Dr. Spets is highly published in her field and her work uncovered important sex differences in cortical regions utilized during visual spatial memory. Her research utilizes a wide range of analysis techniques including general linear modeling, multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA), functional connectivity, region-of-interest (ROI) beta-weight extraction, and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. She was the recipient of several awards in recognition of her doctoral work including the Jasse Walsh Fellowship for Excellence in Neuroscience and the Morrisey College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship. She has taught at the undergraduate level and was the recipient of the Donald J. White Teaching Excellence Award.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Jill Goldstein, Dr. Spets’ research focuses on understanding the sex-dependent role of depression on shaping memory circuitry. As Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD), and both occur more frequently in women than men, her research also investigates the shared pathophysiology in memory decline and MDD. Ultimately, the goal of her research is to identify therapeutic targets for AD associated with MDD for early intervention before disease onset.
Outside of the lab, Dylan is a dedicated equestrian athlete with decades of experience. She competes at top venues along the east coast as a part of her family’s business that imports, trains, and sells top-level show jumping horses.
Selected Publications
Spets, D. S., & Slotnick, S. D. (2021). Are there sex differences in brain activity during long-term memory? A systematic review and fMRI activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Cognitive Neuroscience, 3–4, 163–173.
Spets, D. S., Fritch, H. A., & Slotnick, S. D. (2021). Sex differences in hippocampal connectivity during spatial long-term memory. Hippocampus, 31, 669–676.
Fritch, H. A., Spets, D. S., & Slotnick, S. D. (2021). Functional connectivity with the anterior and posterior hippocampus during spatial memory. Hippocampus, 31, 658–558.
Spets, D. S., & Slotnick, S. D. (2020). Thalamic functional connectivity during spatial long-term memory and the role of sex. Brain Sciences, 10, 898.
Spets, D. S., Jeye, B. M., & Slotnick, S. D. (2019). Different patterns of cortical activity in females and males during spatial long–term memory. Neuroimage, 199, 626–634.