Department of Neurology - Faculty

Geoffrey L. Ahern, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology, Psychology and Psychiatry
Professor, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute
Director, Behavioral Neuroscience and Alzheimer's Clinic
Senior Investigator, Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (ADCC) - UAHSC Clinical Core Center

Education/Training:

BS: SUNY at Purchase, 1976

MS: Yale University, 1978

PhD: Yale University, 1981

MD: Yale University, 1984

Internship: Waterbury Hospital, 1984-85

Residency: Boston University, 1985-88

Fellowship (Behavioral Neurology): Beth Israel Hospital / Harvard Medical School, 1988-90

Board Certification: Neurology, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry, United Council for Neurological Subspecialties

Membership(s): American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, Behavioral Neurology Society, International Neuropsychological Association

Clinical/Research Interests: Behavioral Neurology; Dementia; Alzheimer's Disease; Wada Test; Paraneoplastic Syndromes; Cerebral Lateralization for Emotional Processes; Quantitative EEG; Psychophysiology

Selected Publications:

• Ahern GL, Schomer DL, Kleefield J, Blume H, Cosgrove GR, Weintraub S, Mesulam MM. Right hemisphere advantage for evaluating emotional facial expressions. Cortex, 1991, 27, 193-202.
• Ahern GL, Herring AM, Tackenberg J, Seeger JF, Oommen KJ, Labiner DM, Weinand ME. The association of multiple personality and temporolimbic epilepsy: Intracarotid sodium amobarbital test observations. Archives of Neurology, 1993, 50, 1020-1025.
• Ahern GL, Herring AM, Tackenberg JN, Schwartz GE, Seeger JF, Labiner DM, Weinand ME, Oommen KJ. Affective self-report during the intracarotid sodium amobarbital test. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 1994, 16(3), 372-376.
• Ahern GL, O'Connor M, Dalmau J, Coleman A, Posner JB, Schomer DL, Herzog AG, Kolb DA, Mesulam MM. Paraneoplastic temporal lobe epilepsy with testicular neoplasm and atypical amnesia. Neurology, 1994, 44, 1270-1274.
• Ahern GL, Labiner DM, Hutzler R, Osburn C, Talwar D, Herring AM, Tackenberg JN, Weinand ME, Oommen KJ. Quantitative analysis of the EEG in the intracarotid amobarbital test: I. Amplitude analysis. EEG & Clinical Neurophysiology, 1994, 91, 21-32.
• Ahern GL, Labiner DM, Talwar D, Herring AM, Weinand ME. Quantitative analysis of the EEG in the intracarotid amobarbital test: II. Coherence analysis. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 1995, 12, 285-290.
• Ahern GL. Cerebral laterality and consciousness (letter). Archives of Neurology, 1995, 52, 337-338.
• Weintraub S, Daffner KR, Ahern GL, Price BH, Mesulam MM. Right sided hemispatial neglect and bilateral cerebral lesions. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 1996, 60, 342-344.
• Rogers SL, Friedhoff LT, and the Donepezil Study Group (incl. Ahern GL). The efficacy and safety of donepezil in patients with Alzheimer's disease: Results of a US multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Dementia, 1996, 7, 293-303.
• Reiman EM, Lane RD, Ahern GL, Schwartz GE, Davidson RJ. Positron Emission Tomography, Emotion, and Consciousness. In SR Hameroff, AW Kaszniak, and AC Scott (Eds.), Toward A Science of Consciousness: The First Tucson Discussions and Debates. Boston, MIT Press, 1996, pgs. 311-320.
• O'Connor M, Sieggreen MA, Ahern GL, Schomer D, Mesulam MM. Accelerated forgetting in association with temporal lobe epilepsy and paraneoplastic encephalitis. Brain and Cognition, 1997, 35, 71-84.
• Reiman EM, Lane RD, Ahern GL, Schwartz GE, Davidson RJ, Friston KJ, Yun LS, Chen K. Neuroanatomical correlates of externally and internally generated human emotion. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1997, 154, 918-925.
• Lane RD, Reiman EM, Ahern GL, Schwartz GE, Davidson RJ. Neuroanatomical correlates of happiness, sadness, and disgust. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1997, 154, 926-933.
• Lane RD, Reiman EM, Bradley MM, Lang PJ, Ahern GL, Davidson RJ, Schwartz GE. Neuroanatomical correlates of positive and negative emotion. Neuropsychologia, 1997, 35, 1437-1444.
• Lane RD, Ahern GL, Schwartz GE, Kaszniak AW. Is alexithymia the emotional equivalent of blindsight? Biological Psychiatry, 1997, 42, 834-844.
• Ahern GL, Herring AM, Labiner DM, Weinand ME. Quantification of hemispatial neglect during the intracarotid amytal procedure. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 1998, 4, 1-7.
• Morris JC, Cyrus PA, Orazem J, Mas J, Bieber F, Ruzicka, Gulanski B, and the Metrifonate Study Group (incl. Ahern GL). Metrifonate benefits cognitive, behavioral, and global function in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Neurology, 1998, 50, 1222-1230.
• Tariot PN, Solomon PR, Morris JC, Kershaw P, Lilienfeld S, Ding C, and the Galantamine Study Group (incl. Ahern GL). A 5-month, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of galantamine in AD. Neurology, 2000, 54, 2269-2276.
• Ahern GL, Herring AM, Labiner DM, Weinand ME, Hutzler R. Affective self-report during the intracarotid sodium amobarbital test: Group differences. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2000, 6, 659-667.
• Weinand ME, Deogaonkar M, Kester M, Ahern GL, and Labiner DM. Electrocorticographic factors associated with temporal lobe epileptogenicity. Pathophysiology, 2000, 7, 33-39.
• Weinand ME, Labiner DM, and Ahern GL. Temporal lobe seizure interhemispheric propagation time depends on nonepileptic cortical cerebral blood flow. Epilepsy Research, 2001, 44, 33-39.
• Ahern GL, Sollers J, Lane RD, Labiner DM, Herring AM, Weinand ME, Hutzler R, and Thayer J. Heart rate and heart rate variability changes in the intracarotid sodium amobarbital (ISA) test. Epilepsia, 2001, 42, 912-921.
• Weinand ME, Kester M, Labiner DM, and Ahern GL. Time from ictal subdural EEG seizure onset to clinical seizure onset: Prognostic value for selecting temporal lobectomy candidates. Neurological Research, 2001, 23, 599-604.
• Weinand ME, Labiner DM, and Ahern GL. Integration of perceptual and mnemonic dysfunction: Sensory auras are associated with left hemispheric memory impairment. Epilepsy & Behavior, 2001, 2, 423-432.
• Labiner DM and Ahern GL. Neurologic consultation for seizures: When, why, and how to pursue. Postgraduate Medicine, 2002, 111(1), 53-64.
• Sollers JJ, Ahern GL, Merritt MM, and Thayer JF. Time frequency analysis of the cardiovascular response during the intracarotid amobarbital test. Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation, 2002, 38, 267-271.
• Labiner DM, Weinand ME, Brainerd CJ, Ahern GL, Herring AM, and Melgar M. Prognostic value of concordant seizure focus localizing data in the selection of temporal lobectomy candidates. Neurological Research, 2002, 24, 747-755.
• Aisen PS, Schafer KA, Grundman M, Pfeiffer E, Sano M, Davis KL, Farlow MF, Jin S, Thomas RG, Thal LJ, for the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (incl. Ahern GL). Effects of rofecoxib or naproxen vs placebo on Alzheimer disease progression: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003, 289(21), 2819-2826.
• Jack CR, Slomkowski M, Gracon S, Hoover TM, Felmlee JP, Stewart K, Xu Y, Shiung M, O'Brien PC, Cha R, Knopman D, Petersen RC, and the Milameline Study Group (incl. Ahern GL). MRI as a biomarker of disease progression in a therapeutic trial of milameline for AD. Neurology, 2003, 60(2), 253-260.
• Singer C, Tractenberg RE, Kaye J, Schafer K, Gamst A, Grundman M, Thomas R, and Thal LJ, for the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (incl. Ahern GL). A multicenter, placebo-controlled trial of melatonin for sleep disturbance in Alzheimer's disease. Sleep, 2003, 26(7), 893-901.
• Grundman M, Jack CR, Petersen RC, Kim HT, Taylor C, Datvian M, Weiner MF, DeCarli C, DeKosky ST, van Dyck C, Darvesh S, Yaffe K, Kaye J, Ferris SH, Thomas RG,1 and Thal LJ, for the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (incl. Ahern GL). Hippocampal volume is associated with memory but not nonmemory cognitive performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, 2003, 20, 241-248.
• Gonzales-Portillo G, Rivero S, Ahern GL, Labiner DM, and Weinand ME. Normalization of periictal bihemispheric cerebral perfusion in temporal lobe epilepsy. Pathophysiology, 2004, 11, 31-34.
• Petersen RC, Thomas RG, Grundman M, Bennett D, Doody R, Ferris S, Galasko D, Jin S, Kaye J, Levey A, Pfeiffer E, Sano M, van Dyck CH, and Thal LJ, for the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Group (incl. Ahern GL). Vitamin E and Donepezil for the Treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment. New England Journal of Medicine, 2005, 352, 1-10.