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Sarah Shizuko Morimoto, PsyD

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Languages Spoken: English

Dr. Morimoto is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist with expertise in diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders of late life. Her research encompasses the full range of digital cognitive remediation intervention development, from identifying targeted, and clinically relevant cognitive deficits, and the underlying neural circuit dysfunction, to developing computerized paradigms, conducting clinical trials, to CR method development. Her intervention for geriatric depression NeuroFlex garnered national attention when her pilot trial was published in Nature Communications. Dr. Morimoto's work has been featured on National Public Radio; LX NBC News, KSL, LiveScience and the Salt Lake Tribune.

Dr. Morimoto directs a clinical service which addresses a wide range of cognitive and emotional deficits comorbid with psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. This service provides precision personalized medicine, and includes holistic and fine-grained evaluation of each patient’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and an individualized, multidisciplinary treatment plan tailored to each patients’ unique profile, follow up testing and relapse prevention.

With her expertise, Dr. Morimoto aims to raise awareness about the importance of brain health at every age, and provide an evidence-based service where patients can learn how to optimize their cognitive and emotional functioning

Clinical Locations

525 Plaza
HMHI (UNI) Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic

801-587-1288

525 East 100 South
Salt Lake City, UT  84102
5th floor

Map

Specialties

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Clinical Scientist
  • Cognitive Disorders
  • Depression
  • Neuropsychology
  • Anxiety
  • Adult Behavioral Health - Outpatient

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Population Health Sciences - Associate Professor
Academic Divisions Health System Innovation and Research

Dr. Morimoto is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist with expertise in diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders of late life. Her research encompasses the full range of digital cognitive remediation intervention development, from identifying targeted, and clinically relevant cognitive deficits, and the underlying neural circuit dysfunction, to developing computerized paradigms, conducting clinical trials, to CR method development. Her intervention for geriatric depression NeuroFlex garnered national attention when her pilot trial was published in Nature Communications. Dr. Morimoto's work has been featured on National Public Radio; LX NBC News, KSL, LiveScience and the Salt Lake Tribune.

Dr. Morimoto directs a clinical service which addresses a wide range of cognitive and emotional deficits comorbid with psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. This service provides precision personalized medicine, and includes holistic and fine-grained evaluation of each patient’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and an individualized, multidisciplinary treatment plan tailored to each patients’ unique profile, follow up testing and relapse prevention.

With her expertise, Dr. Morimoto aims to raise awareness about the importance of brain health at every age, and provide an evidence-based service where patients can learn how to optimize their cognitive and emotional functioning

Academic Locations

Williams Building

801-587-1288

295 Chipeta Way
Population Health Sciences Division of Health Systems Innovation and Research
Salt Lake City, UT  84108

Research Statement

Dr. Morimoto's research focuses on diagnosis and treatment of late life mood disorders, and disorders of aging. She leads the Neurotherpeautics Lab in collaboration with the Therapeutic Games and Apps lab in the conceptualization, execution and implementation of digital tools for psychiatric disorders. She is currently PI of a multi-site randomized controlled clinical trial of NeuroFlex; Dr. Morimoto's neuroplasticity-based digital app to treat cognitive deficits in treatment resistant older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Population Health Sciences - Associate Professor
Academic Divisions Health System Innovation and Research

Research Interests

  • Targeted and Evidence-Based Interventions for Cognitive Deficits
  • Neuroplasticity-Based Computerized Cognitive Remediation
  • Cognitive Deficits in Psychiatric Disorders
  • Cognitive decline in normal aging
  • Neurobiology of Depression in the Elderly
  • Computerized Cognitive Remediation Method Development

Education History

Research Fellow Weill Cornell Medical School
Neurobiology of geriatric mood disorders
Research Fellow, 2012
Postdoctoral Fellowship New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center
Neuropsychology
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2008
Fellowship Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
Neuropsychology
Clinical Fellow, 2007
Doctoral Training Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Stanford University School of Medicine
Clinical Psychology
Psy.D., 2007
Graduate Training Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Stanford University School of Medicine
Clinical Psychology
M.S., 2005
Undergraduate University of California, Berkeley
Psychology
B.A., 2001

Selected Publications - Journal Articles

Journal Article

  1. Morimoto SS, Altizer RA, Gunning FM, Hu W, Liu J, Cote SE, Nitis J, Alexopoulos GS (2020). Targeting Cognitive Control Deficits With Neuroplasticity-Based Computerized Cognitive Remediation in Patients With Geriatric Major Depression: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, 28(9), 971-980.
  2. Bessette KL, Karstens AJ, Crane NA, Peters AT, Stange JP, Elverman KH, Morimoto SS, Weisenbach SL, Langenecker SA (2020). A Lifespan Model of Interference Resolution and Inhibitory Control: Risk for Depression and Changes with Illness Progression. Neuropsychol Rev, 30(4), 477-498.
  3. Victoria LW, Alexopoulos GS, Ilieva I, Stein AT, Hoptman MJ, Chowdhury N, Respino M, Morimoto SS, Kanellopoulos D, Avari JN, Gunning FM (2018). White matter abnormalities predict residual negative self-referential thinking following treatment of late-life depression with escitalopram: A preliminary study. J Affect Disord, 243, 62-69.
  4. Duff K, Anderson JS, Mallik AK, Suhrie KR, Atkinson TJ, Dalley BCA, Morimoto SS, Hoffman JM (2018). Short-term repeat cognitive testing and its relationship to hippocampal volumes in older adults. J Clin Neurosci, 57, 121-125.

Global Impact

Service

05/01/2018 Program Committee Member Scientific Advisory Committee Global

Long Covid-19 and Cognitive Symptoms

Description: Keywords: Principal Investigator: Sarah Morimoto

Computerized Cognitive Remediation for Treatment Resistant Geriatric Depression

Description: Keywords: Principal Investigator: Sarah Morimoto

News Articles

NIH Grant Supports Clinical Trial to Determine if Video Games Can Relieve Late-Life Depression

The Scope & Other Podcasts

  • Neuroplasticity-based computerized cognitive remediation (nCCR) for depression and cognitive deficits in the elderly: A treatment and circuit-based probe of the cognitive control network

Videos

Neuroplasticity-based computerized cognitive remediation (nCCR) for depression and cognitive deficits in the elderly: A treatment and circuit-based probe of the cognitive control network

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