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Sarah Shizuko Morimoto

Sarah Shizuko Morimoto, PsyD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Huntsman Mental Health Institute

HMHI (UNI) Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic
Salt Lake City
801-583-2500
  • 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

  • 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

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Population Health Sciences -Primary

    Education history

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

    Selected Publications

    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. (Read full article)
    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. (Read full article)
    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. (Read full article)
    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. (Read full article)