Smith, Mary Lou

Profile

Dr. Smith did her graduate training at McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute. She is a Senior Associate Scientist in the Neurosciences and Mental Health Program in the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children. She conducts research in the epilepsy surgery program, the HIV program and Diagnostic Imaging and Neurology at the Hospital for Sick Children.  She has held a number of administrative positions, including Chair of the Psychology Department at UTM, Acting Graduate Chair in the Psychology Department, Chair of the Social Sciences and Humanities Ethics Board, and Secretary of the Neuropsychology subcommission of the Diagnostic Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy.

Area of Reasearch Expertise

developmental neuropsychology, epilepsy, HIV

Current Research

My research examines the behavioural and neuropsychological consequences of a variety of disorders of the central nervous system in children. My colleagues and I are longitudinally following children with epilepsy treated with surgical excision or medication, children with high funcitoning autism, and children born preternm.  Many of these studies involve examining the cognitive, academic, social, emotional, and behavioural effects of these disorders and the evaluation of their structural and functional neuroimaging correlates. We are also interested in the long-term effects of surgery on children and its outcomes in young adulthood. In another line of research focused on determining the nature, frequency, and correlates of psychological impairment arising from infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), we are monitoring the developmental, behavioural and cognitive status of children born with HIV or exposed to HIV in utero.

Recent Publications (selected examples)

Smith ML, Kelly K, Kadis DS, Elliott IM,  Olds J, Whiting S, Snyder T, Self-reported symptoms of psychological well-being in young adults who underwent respective epilepsy surgery in childhood.  Epilepsia, 2011, 52(5):891–899.

Smith ML, Lah S, Elliott IM. Outcomes of pediatric epilepsy surgery. In C. Helmstaedter, B Hermann, M Lassonde, P Kahane, A Arzimanoglou (eds), Neuropsychology in the Care of People with Epilepsy. John Libbey Eurotext, 2011, pp. 239-247.

Widjaja E, Snead OC, Almedar A, Smith ML. Widespread cortical thinning in children with frontal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia, 2011, 52(9), 1685-1691. 

Smith ML, Lah S. One declarative memory system or two? The relationship between episodic and semantic memory in children with temporal lobe epilepsy.  Neuropsychology, 2011, 25(5), 634-644.

Kadis DS,  Pang EW, Mills T, Taylor MJ, McAndrews MP, Smith ML. Characterizing the normal developmental trajectory of expressive language lateralization using magnetoencephalography. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2011, 17, 896-904. 

Widjaja E, Snead OC, Zarei S, Chuang S, Raybaud C, Smith ML. Reduced cortical thickness in children with new-onset seizures.  American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2012 Apr;33(4):673-7. 

Hung Y, Smith ML, Taylor M.  Development of ACC-amygdala activations in processing unattended fear. Neuroimage, 2012, 60, 545-552. 

Vachhrajani S, de Ribaupierre S, Otsubo H, Ochi A, Weiss SK, Donner EJ, Widjaja E, Kerr E, Smith ML, Drake J, Rutka JT. Neurosurgical management of frontal lobe epilepsy in children. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, 2012 Sep;10(3):206-16. 

Ibrahim GM,  Akiyama T, Ochi A,  Otsubo, H, Smith ML, Taylor MJ, Donner E, Rutka JT, Snead OC, Doesburg SM. Seizure-induced disruptions of Rolandic gamma-band functional connectivity are independently associated with motor impairments in children with epilepsy.  PLoS ONE 2012, 7(6): e39326. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039326 

Speechley, KN,  Ferro MA, Camfield C,  Huang W, Levin SB,  Smith ML, Wiebe S, Zou, G.  Quality of life in children with new-onset epilepsy: A two year prospective cohort study. Neurology, 2012, 79(15), 1548-1555. 

Elliott I, Kadis DS, Lach LM, Olds J, McLeary L, Whiting S, Snyder T. Smith ML. Quality of life in young adults who underwent resective surgery for epilepsy in childhood. Epilepsia, 2012, 53(9):1577–1586,

Longo C, Kerr EN, Smith ML. Executive function in children with intractable frontal lobe or temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior, 2013, 26, 102–108. 

Smith ML, Direnfeld E.  Memory in children with epilepsy.  In A. Zeman, N. Kapur, M. Jones-Gotman (Eds.).  Epilepsy and Memory.  Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 102-113.

Smith ML, Gallagher A, Lassonde, M. Cognitive Deficits in Children with Epilepsy.  In Cross H, Duchowny M, Glauser T, Hirsch, and Arzimanoglou A (Eds.)  Medical and Surgical Treatment of Epilepsy , New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013, pp. 309-322.