David Woods: A Multifaceted Figure in Music, Neuroscience, and Academia
David Woods presents a fascinating case study, embodying a diverse range of experiences and expertise. From his early life immersed in music to his later contributions to neuroscience and a brief stint in academic administration, Woods's life reflects a multifaceted journey. This article aims to explore the various facets of David Woods's life, drawing upon available information to create a comprehensive picture.
Early Life and Musical Inclinations
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 11, 1952, David Woods spent the majority of his life in Kalamazoo. His father was an English professor at WMU, who also published several poetry books, while his mother was a homemaker active in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. He had a younger brother, Rich, with whom he shared a typical brotherly bond, including getting into mischief.
David demonstrated an early interest in music. He and Rich had a band in their basement, playing 60s music and British Invasion tunes. He listened to Top 40 hits from Chicago daily. Woods played both the guitar and the bass guitar. A year spent in California while his father was on sabbatical at UCLA provided a memorable experience for him and his brother.
Personal Struggles and Enduring Passions
Despite his musical talents, David Woods faced significant challenges throughout his life. He battled schizophrenia and spent considerable time in and out of the State Hospital. His parents provided unwavering support, with his father taking him to the store weekly and his mother offering support in other ways. The death of his mother in 1983 and his father in 1995 were undoubtedly difficult experiences. His brother, Rich, and his wife Mary, maintained a close relationship with David, providing companionship and support.
Throughout his life, Woods's interests remained centered on music. He enjoyed hard metal rock, with Ozzie Osbourne, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath among his favorites. He performed locally at venues like Haveys on the Mall and Club Soda, where he was known as Purple Dave. He had a dedicated bar stool at Club Soda and was also a regular at Bimbo’s Pizza. His other interests included shooting pool and enjoying a good beer. He was known to be a picky eater. While living in his own apartment, he enjoyed the companionship of his cats. For the last ten years or so of his life, Dave lived in group homes. For the past two years he was at Community Living Options.
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Contributions to Neuroscience
Beyond his personal life and musical pursuits, David Woods made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience. His research focused on various aspects of cognitive function, including sensory perception, attention, and memory. His work involved the use of advanced neuroimaging techniques, such as fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying these cognitive processes.
Woods's research explored a wide range of topics, including:
Auditory Processing: Functional maps of human auditory cortex, effects of acoustic features and attention, phonological processing, and speech perception in older hearing-impaired listeners.
Visual Processing: Functional and anatomical properties of human visual cortical fields, shape perception, and intermodal attention.
Attention: Attentional modulation of auditory cortex, distributed cortical networks for focused auditory attention and distraction, and intermodal attention.
Memory: Improving digit span assessment of short-term verbal memory, computerized analysis of error patterns in digit span recall, and separate memory-related processing for auditory frequency and patterns.
Executive Function: Measuring executive function in control subjects and TBI patients with question completion time (QCT).
Aging: Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task, and age-related changes in consonant and sentence processing.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Multimodality surface-based morphometry reveals diffuse cortical atrophy in traumatic brain injury, and the effects of TBI on various cognitive measures.
Malingering: The effects of simulated malingering on various cognitive measures.
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Neuropsychiatric Traits: Genetic basis of neuropsychiatric traits in humans.
His publications reflect his diverse research interests and his commitment to advancing our understanding of the brain.
Academic Administration at Indiana University
David G. Woods also served as the dean of Indiana University’s School of Music for 27 months. However, his tenure was marked by controversy, leading to his resignation in December. Woods attributed his departure to resistance from certain faculty members who opposed the changes he implemented, such as restructuring the staff and using interactive instructional technology. He stated that these faculty members preferred to "maintain the status quo." During his time as dean, he implemented 117 changes.
Selected Publications
The following is a selection of publications attributed to David Woods, demonstrating the breadth and depth of his research in neuroscience:
- Woods D, Pebler P, Johnson DK, Herron T, Hall K, Blank M, Geraci K, Williams G, Chok J, Lwi S, Curran B, Schendel K, Spinelli M, Baldo J. The California Cognitive Assessment Battery (CCAB). Front Hum Neurosci.
- Miao X, Wu Y, Liu D, Jiang H, Woods D, Stern MT, Blair NIS, Airan RD, Bettegowda C, Rosch KS, Qin Q, van Zijl PCM, Pillai JJ, Hua J. Whole-Brain Functional and Diffusion Tensor MRI in Human Participants with Metallic Orthodontic Braces. Radiology.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Herron TJ, Yund EW, Reed B. The Bay Area Verbal Learning Test (BAVLT): Normative Data and the Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Herron TJ, Yund EW. Computerized Analysis of Verbal Fluency: Normative Data and the Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury. PLoS One.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Herron TJ, Yund EW. A Computerized Test of Design Fluency. PLoS One.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Herron TJ, Yund EW. The Effects of Repeat Testing, Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury on Computerized Measures of Visuospatial Memory Span. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Herron TJ, Yund EW. Multimodality Imaging of Ethiodized Oil-loaded Radiopaque Microspheres during Transarterial Embolization of Rabbits with VX2 Liver Tumors. Radiology.
- Tacher V, Duran R, Lin M, Sohn JH, Sharma KV, Wang Z, Chapiro J, Gacchina Johnson C, Bhagat N, Dreher MR, Schäfer D, Woods DL, Lewis AL, Tang Y, Grass M, Wood BJ, Geschwind JF. The Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury on Visual Choice Reaction Time. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Yund EW, Herron TJ. The Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury on High-Precision Measures of Simple Visual Reaction Time. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Herron TJ, Yund EW. An improved spatial span test of visuospatial memory. Memory.
- Woods DL, Wyma JM, Yund EW, Herron TJ. Corrigendum: Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Yund EW, Wyma JM, Ruff R, Herron TJ. Age-related slowing of response selection and production in a visual choice reaction time task. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Kang X, Herron TJ, Ettlinger M, Woods DL. Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time. Front Hum Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Doss Z, Herron TJ, Arbogast T, Younus M, Ettlinger M, Yund EW. Aided and unaided speech perception by older hearing impaired listeners. PLoS One.
- Zhang S, Cate AD, Herron TJ, Kang X, Yund EW, Bao S, Woods DL. Chronic ambient hydrogen sulfide exposure and cognitive function. Neurotoxicol Teratol.
- Whitaker KJ, Kang X, Herron TJ, Woods DL, Robertson LC, Alvarez BD. White matter microstructure throughout the brain correlates with visual imagery in grapheme-color synesthesia. Neuroimage.
- Woods DL, Herron TJ, Cate AD, Kang X, Yund EW. Regional variation, hemispheric asymmetries and gender differences in pericortical white matter. Neuroimage.
- Woods DL, Kishiyamaa MM, Lund EW, Herron TJ, Edwards B, Poliva O, Hink RF, Reed B. Functional properties of human auditory cortical fields. Front Syst Neurosci.
- Woods DL, Stecker GC, Rinne T, Herron TJ, Cate AD, Yund EW, Liao I, Kang X. Auditory attention activates peripheral visual cortex. PLoS One.
- Cate AD, Herron TJ, Yund EW, Stecker GC, Rinne T, Kang X, Petkov CI, Disbrow EA, Woods DL. Attention modulates sound processing in human auditory cortex but not the inferior colliculus. Neuroreport.
- Rinne T, Stecker GC, Kang X, Yund EW, Herron TJ, Woods DL. Distributed cortical networks for focused auditory attention and distraction. Neurosci Lett.
- Woods DL, Alain C. Functional maps of human auditory cortex: effects of acoustic features and attention. PLoS One.
- Alho K, Woods DL, Algazi A, Knight RT, Näätänen R. Processing of auditory stimuli during auditory and visual attention as revealed by event-related potentials. Psychophysiology.
- Woods DL, Knight RT, Scabini D. Distractor clustering enhances detection speed and accuracy during selective listening. Percept Psychophys.
This list is not exhaustive but provides a glimpse into the scope of David Woods's research endeavors.
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