Nikki Arrington
check Recruiting a graduate student for Fall of 2026
Education
Ph.D., University of Houston, 2015
Research Interests
Dr. Arrington is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and core faculty in the Florida Center for Reading Research. Her research focuses on the intersection of brain, attention, and reading. Her work focuses on the brain changes as we learn to read and how we can use science to help people with reading difficulties like dyslexia. Populations in her research include children and young adults with learning challenges and neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD. Dr. Arrington’s research leverages a multimodal approach combining across neuroimaging, neuromodulation, as well as across clinical, neuropsychological and behavioral methods.
The Big Questions:
- How is the brain wired? Using advanced MRI scans, we map the brain to see how they connect different areas responsible for sight, sound, and meaning.
- Why does attention matter? Reading isn't just about letters; it’s about focus. We investigate how memory and attention interact with literacy skills.
- Can we "jump-start" the reading brain? We use TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)—a non-invasive way to stimulate brain cells—to see if we can "prime" the brain to learn more effectively during learning.
Lab Description
The Brain Analysis of Reading and Cognition (B.A.R.C.) Lab leverages the synergy of neuroimaging (structural and functional MRI) and non-invasive neuromodulation (TMS) to map the neural architecture of the human mind. Our mission is to uncover the causal mechanisms linking executive control and linguistic processing, identifying how the brain’s regulatory networks support fluent reading and information synthesis across the lifespan.