Marilyn Horta, Ph.D.

Marilyn Horta, Ph.D.

Applied Research Scientist

Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior at the Moffitt Cancer Center

About Me

I am an Applied Research Scientist in Moffitt Cancer Center’s Tobacco Research and Intervention Program (TRIP). I was formerly a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida and a NIDA T32 postdoctoral fellow from the UF Substance Abuse Training Center in Public Health in the Department of Epidemiology. As a developmental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, I seek to improve the health and independence of older adults through my research. I am interested in the impact of aging on social cognition and health-related behaviors, including decision-making. My research aims to characterize social cognition and decision-making across adulthood and aging and to identify opportunities to enhance function in these domains, aiming to develop effective interventions (e.g., pharmacological - oxytocin, behavioral, and neuromodulatory) for older adults.

During my graduate studies, I examined the effects of intranasal oxytocin administration in younger and older adults on whole-brain pattern activation, functional connectivity, and behavior relevant to socioemotional skills impacted by aging (e.g., emotion identification, meta-mood). My postdoctoral work focused on the neurobiological and psychosocial contributors to chronic pain and substance use in aging. More recently, through a supplement to NIA R01AG072658 (Characterizing and Modulating Neurocognitive Processes of Learning to Trust and Distrust in Aging), I investigated non-social and social decision-making in older adults with and without chronic pain. At TRIP, I am involved in research that implements mHealth interventions for smoking cessation and mindfulness-based stress reduction to mitigate cancer-risk behaviors. I employ an integrative biopsychosocial approach, combining methods such as biological sampling, self-report and behavioral measures, and neuroimaging.

Download my CV.

Interests
  • Aging
  • Chronic Pain
  • Substance Use
  • Social Cognition
  • Decision-making
  • Intervention Science
Education
  • PhD in Psychology, 2020

    University of Florida

  • MS in Psychology, 2017

    University of Florida

  • Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program, 2014

    Emory University

  • BS in Psychology, 2013

    Florida State University

  • BS in International Affairs, 2013

    Florida State University

Recent Publications

(2019). Chronic oxytocin administration as a tool for investigation and treatment: A cross-disciplinary systematic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

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(2019). Oxytocin alters patterns of brain activity and amygdalar connectivity by age during dynamic facial emotion identification. Neurobiology of Aging.

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(2019). CISDA: Changes in integration for social decisions in aging. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science.

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(2018). Sleep facilitates consolidation of positive emotional memory in healthy older adults. Memory.

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(2018). Explaining individual variation in paternal brain responses to infant cries. Physiology & Behavior.

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