BART D. BRIGIDI, PhD is a neuroscientist and practicing clinical neuropsychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist. He is the founding director of NCNbA and has advanced training in neurocognitive evaluation and rehabilitation, psychotherapy, and consultation for children, adolescents, and adults. He holds a Master’s degree in Experimental Health Psychology from St. Joseph’s University and a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont. Dr. Brigidi completed his early training with Dr. Edna Foa to better understand emotional disorders in children and adults, specifically anxiety of a posttraumatic or obsessive nature. He completed his doctoral studies under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Achenbach, who himself had trained with Jean Piaget, which provided the empirical foundation for Dr. Brigidi’s expertise across the lifespan starting in early childhood. Dr. Brigidi also completed an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Brigidi has received funding from NIH and private foundation grants during his tenure on the faculty at Duke University Medical Center in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Surgery. In addition to clinical practice, he is currently Associate Director of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at Duke University. His current research focuses on characterizing the neurobiology of working memory, emotion regulation (e.g., mindfulness), decision-‐making, attention, memory, and impulsivity.
For over a decade, Dr. Brigidi and his colleagues have studied neural and genetic correlates of executive functioning, specifically working memory. This work has led to the development of novel methods to train executive functioning using a variety of techniques. This collaborative work has been pointed towards perhaps the most critical aspect of cognitive training which is the generalization of gains made in the clinic and lab to everyday functioning at home, work and school. Indeed, Dr. Brigidi and his colleagues study how to combine executive functioning training, specifically working memory training, with other techniques to support meaningful and noticeable positive changes in their patients’ daily lives in the areas of emotion and behavior regulation, reading and writing, focus and concentration, memory retrieval, organization and planning, and overall happiness and quality of life.
Dr. Brigidi also maintains an active teaching schedule in courses in human cognition at local universities, and regularly teaches meditation in schools.
You can email Dr. Brigidi at bbrigidi@ncnba.com .