Adam J. Culbreth

Adam J. Culbreth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, and affiliated with the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. His research focuses on motivational impairment in schizophrenia, examining effort-cost decision-making, reinforcement learning, and neural correlates via neuroimaging and ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

• Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2019-2021): University of Maryland, School of Medicine
• PhD (2015-2019): Washington University in St. Louis, Clinical Science
• Bachelor of Science (2008-2012): Indiana University, Psychology

Culbreth’s work bridges experimental paradigms with real-world functioning, linking laboratory deficits like reduced model-based decision-making and ventral striatal activation to daily motivational experience. His studies integrate neuroimaging, behavioral tasks, and mobile technology to validate ecological validity. Current research includes computational models of reward learning and transdiagnostic comparisons of motivational deficits across schizophrenia and mood disorders.

His publications highlight trends in schizophrenia research, focusing on effort-based decision-making, neural connectivity (e.g., temporal-thalamic circuits), and transdiagnostic frameworks. Collaborations with Drs. James Waltz, James Gold, and Erin Moran underpin his multidisciplinary approach.