Sean Drummond

Dr. Drummond has two main arms to his program of research: 1) cognitive neuroscience of sleep and sleep deprivation; 2) treatment of insomnia, especially in comorbid psychopathology; and 3) translational research examining the mechanistic role sleep plays in PTSD and mood disorders. With respect to cognitive neuroscience, his studies manipulate sleep deprivation in healthy adults and measure the consequent cognitive and cerebral changes through behavioral and cognitive testing, functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), and EEG. His work also includes healthy older adults and clinical populations such as obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia. He is interested in a number of cognitive performance domains, particularly decision making, attention, executive function (broadly defined) and learning/memory. Dr. Drummond's clinical research focuses on the treatment of insomnia in various contexts. His translational research examines the interaction of sleep, sleep disruption, and psychiatric symptoms. In particular, he is interested in understanding the mechanistic role sleep plays in development, maintenance, and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and mood disorders. His research has been funded by several sources, including the National Health and Medical Research Council, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, US Department of Defense, and industry. Dr Drummond's clinical expertise lies in treating behavioral sleep disorders, such as insomnia and chronic nightmares, as well as mood disorders such as depression and bipolar.

Community Service:

Immediate Past President of the Sleep Research Society (sleepresearchsociety.org)