Emeritus, Professor 
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia
Fellow, International Organization of Psychophysiology

Ph.D. (1988), University of Florida

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Doctoral Program Affiliations

Primary: Clinical Psychology
Secondary: Social Psychology

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Research and Clinical Interests

My research interests involve the study of emotion from an information processing and a psychophysiological perspective. Current specific interests include studies of emotional and attentional processes during emotional imagery, the psychophysiology of social interaction and the effect of ethnic/cultural differences and social context on emotion and on social interaction. New research interests are: 1) latent semantic analysis of text, with applications including expressive writing and doctor-patient communication, and 2) disorders of decreased sound tolerance, including misophonia and hyperacusis. My clinical interests include intellectual assessment and the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders.

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Select Publications

Bourdon, J. L., Moore, A. A., Savage, J. E., Hazlett, L., Vrana, S. R., Hettema, J. M., & Roberson-Nay, R. (2018). The heritability of resting heart rate variability (HRV) in adolescents and young adults. Behavior Genetics. DOI: 10.1007/s10519-018-9915-1

Cusack, S., Cash, T., & Vrana, S. R. (2018). An examination of the relationship between misophonia, anxiety sensitivity, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 18, 67-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2018.06.004

Sheerin, C.M., Konig, A., Eonta, A.M., & Vrana, S.R. (2018). Effect of expressive and neutral writing on respiratory sinus arrhythmia response over time. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 59, 129-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.01.003

Vrana, S. R., Vrana, D. T., Penner, L. A., Eggly, S., Slatcher, R. B., Hagiwara, N. (2018). Latent Semantic Analysis: A new measure of patient-physician communication. Social Science & Medicine, 198, 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.021

Clark, S. W., Gulin, S. L., Heller, M. B., & Vrana, S. R. (2017). Graduate training implications of the Q-interactive platform for administering Wechsler intelligence tests. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 11, 148-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tep0000155

Vrana, S. R. & Vrana, D. T. (2017). Can a computer administer a Wechsler intelligence test? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48, 191-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pro0000128

Roberson-Nay, R., Gorlin, E. I., Beadel, J. R., Cash, T., Vrana, S. R., & Teachman, B. A. (2017). Temporal stability of multiple response systems to 7.5% carbon dioxide challenge. Biological Psychology, 124, 111-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.01.014

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Recent Courses

• Individual Tests of Intelligence, graduate level
• Anxiety Disorders practicum, graduate level
• Assessment Clinic practicum, graduate level

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