John A. Sweeney, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology. He serves as Director of the Center for Cognitive Medicine and Director at the Psychotic Disorders Program in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Sweeney is a clinical investigator with interest in autism and schizophrenia. His autism interests are focused on investigating brain anatomy and neurophysiological disturbances that cause the disorder, and in the familial transmission of the disorder. His schizophrenia work focuses on longitudinal treatment studies of first episode psychosis. Prior to moving to UIC, he directed the clinical neuropsychology services at Cornell University Medical College and at the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a standing member of the NIH study section that evaluates grant applications related to the neuroscience of mental disorders. His personal research program has been continuously funded by NIH since 1984. He is a clinical cognitive neuroscientist with particular expertise in using fMRI to understand brain mechanisms regulating the attentional systems and control of voluntary behavior, and in investigating pharmacological effects on functional brain systems in neuropsychiatric disorders. He has extensive research experience in psychopathology research, and maintains active interdisciplinary research efforts with colleagues in neurology and radiology. His clinical service is in programs that provide diagnostic evaluations of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and in the evaluation and treatment of individuals presenting with their first episode of psychotic disorders.

Representative publications

Sweeney JA, Mintun MA, Kwee S, Wiseman MB, Brown DL, Rosenberg DR, Carl JR: Positron emission tomography study of voluntary saccadic eye movements and spatial working memory. Journal of Neurophysiology 1996 Jan;75(1):454-468

Sweeney JA, Luna B, Srinivasagam NM, Keshavan MS, Schooler NR, Haas GL, Carl JR: Eye tracking abnormalities in schizophrenia: Evidence for dysfunction in the frontal eye fields. Biological Psychiatry 1998 Jan;44(8):698-708

Haas GL, Garratt LS, Sweeney JA: Delay to first antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia: Impact on symptomatology and clinical course features. Journal of Psychiatric Research 1998 May-Aug;32(3-4):151-159

Luna B, Thulborn KR, Munoz DP, Merriam EP, Garver KE, Minshew NJ, Keshavan MS, Genovese CR, Eddy WF, Sweeney JA: Maturation of widely distributed brain functions subserves cognitive development. Neuroimage 2001 13(5):786-793

Rosano C, Krisky CM, Welling JS, Eddy WF, Luna B, Thulborn KR, Sweeney JA: Pursuit and saccadic eye movement subregions in the human frontal eye field: A high resolution fMRI investigation. Cerebral Cortex 2002 Feb;12:107-115

Luna B, Minshew NJ, Garver BA, Lazar NA, Thulborn KR, Eddy WF, Sweeney JA: Neocortical system abnormalities in autism: An fMRI study of spatial working memory. Neurology 2002 May;59:834-840

Sweeney JA, Takarae Y, Macmillan C, Luna B, Minshew NJ. Eye movements in neurodevelopmental disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology 2004 February; 17(1): 37-42

Hill SK, Schuepbach D, Herbener ES, Keshavan MS, Sweeney JA: Pretreatment and longitudinal studies of neuropsychological deficits in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 2004 May 1; 68(1): 49-63

Luna B, Garver KE, Urban TA, Lazar NA, and Sweeney JA: Maturation of cognitive processes from late childhood to adulthood. Child Dev. 2004 Sep/Oct;75(5): 1357-1372

Takarae Y, Minshew NJ, Luna B, Krisky CM, Sweeney JA: Pursuit eye movement deficits in autism. Brain 2004 127:2584-2594