Diego Lievano Parra
Visiting Assistant Professor
Behavioral neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases, clinical neuropsychology, mental and brain health
Recent Publications
Lievano Parra, D., Garavito Coronado, J. D., Jensen, G., Gonzalez Diaz, V., & Cardenas Parra, F. (2026). Time-dependent changes in stepping performance and velocity following partial dopaminergic lesions in the SNc of male and female rats. PLOS ONE, 21(5), e0337381. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337381
Cortés Silva, J. A., Davis, C. A., Lievano Parra, D., & González, V. V. (2026). Can aerobic exercise really improve decision-making in aging? What has been measured, what has been assumed, and what needs to change. PsyArXiv. Preprint.
Liévano-Parra, D. J. (2013). Neurobiología de la agresión: Aportes para la psicología. Revista Vanguardia Psicológica Clínica Teórica y Práctica, 4(1), 69–85.
Presentations
Davis, C. A., Lievano Parra, D., Bharadwaj, P. R., Kim, S., & González, V. V. (2025, September). Non-neuronal modulation of cognitive flexibility: ACC astrocyte activation enhances learning mastery in reversal learning [Poster presentation]. Curiosity, Information Seeking & Exploration Conference 2025: From Neurons to Cognition, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Lievano Parra, D., González Díaz, V., & Cárdenas Parra, F. (2025, September). Hidden costs of dopamine depletion: Temporal and sex-specific impairments in reversal learning after SNc lesion [Poster presentation]. Curiosity, Information Seeking & Exploration Conference 2025: From Neurons to Cognition, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Bharadwaj, P. R., Lievano Parra, D., Davis, C. A., Kim, S., & González, V. V. (2025, September). Progesterone withdrawal in an animal model of PMDD: Is it anxiety or risk aversion? [Poster presentation]. Curiosity, Information Seeking & Exploration Conference 2025: From Neurons to Cognition, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Research
My research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular interest in movement disorders and the cognitive decline and dementia associated with these conditions. More specifically, I am interested on non-motor behavioral markers associated with early and prodromal stages of Parkinson’s disease using toxin-based animal models in Rattus norvegicus. At Reed, we are currently working on three projects: the neuroprotective effects of estrogen in a Parkinson’s disease model, the motor-behavioral dissociation of L-DOPA treatment in an early-stage Parkinson’s disease model, and the role of the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPN) in cognitive flexibility.
Teaching
My current courses include PSY 219 — Mental and Brain Health; PSY 411 — Advanced Topics in Psychological Science: Neurodegenerative Diseases; PSY 331 — Clinical Neuropsychology; and PSY 333 — Behavioral Neuroscience.