Gina Mason

Welcome to my website! My work focuses on sleep, social environments, and human cognitive development. In prior work, I studied how social factors (e.g., bedsharing, parent-child interactions) predict attention and sleep in infants and children, and how sleep's neural properties support early emotion and memory. I now work with Dr. Jared Saletin at Brown University, probing links between sleep loss, brain connectivity, and learning in typical and atypical development. I have also taught sleep science using a cross-species lens, to foster students' understanding of the natural world.

Education

Experience

Publications

• Mason, G. M., Saletin, J. M. (2023). The Impact of Insufficient Sleep on Cognitive and Emotional Health in Adolescence: Current Advances and Research Needs. In: Advances in the Psychobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms (pp. 104–121). Routledge.
• Hanron, O., Mason, G. M., Holmes, J. F., & Spencer, R. M. C. (2023). Early childhood naps initiate emotional memory processing in preparation for enhanced overnight consolidation. Child Development, 00, 1-13.
• Mason, G. M. & Spencer, R. M. C. (2022). Sleep and Memory in Infancy and Childhood. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 4, 89-108.
• Mason, G. M., Holmes, J. F., Andre, C., & Spencer, R. (2021). Bedsharing in Early Childhood: Frequency, Partner Characteristics, and Relations to Sleep. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 182(4), 269–288.
• Mason, G. M., Kurdziel, L., & Spencer, R. (2021). The memory benefits of two naps per day during infancy: A pilot investigation. Infant Behavior & Development, 65, 101647.
• Lokhandwala, S., Holmes, J. F., Mason, G. M., St Laurent, C. W., Delvey, C., Hanron, O., Andre, C., Rodheim, K., Kaur, S., & Spencer, R. (2021). Sleep and Coping in Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 9, 716608.
• Mason, G. M., Lokhandwala, S., Riggins, T., & Spencer, R. (2021). Sleep and human cognitive development. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 57, 101472.
• Mason, G. M., Goldstein, M. H., & Schwade, J. A. (2019). The role of multisensory development in early language learning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 183, 48–64.
• Mason, G. M., Kirkpatrick, F., Schwade, J. A., & Goldstein, M. H. (2019). The Role of Dyadic Coordination in Organizing Visual Attention in 5-Month-Old Infants. Infancy, 24(2), 162–186.
• Edgin, J. O., Anand, P., Rosser, T., Pierpont, E. I., Figueroa, C., Hamilton, D., Huddleston, L., Mason, G. M., Spanò, G., Toole, L., Nguyen-Driver, M., Capone, G., Abbeduto, L., Maslen, C., Reeves, R. H., & Sherman, S. (2017). The Arizona Cognitive Test Battery for Down Syndrome: Test-Retest Reliability and Practice Effects. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 122(3), 215–234.
• Mason, G. M., Spanó, G., & Edgin, J. (2015). Symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Down syndrome: effects of the dopamine receptor D4 gene. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 120(1), 58–71.
• Edgin, J. O., Mason, G. M., Spanò, G., Fernández, A., & Nadel, L. (2012). Human and mouse model cognitive phenotypes in Down syndrome: implications for assessment. Progress in Brain Research, 197, 123–151.
• Edgin, J. O., Mason, G. M., Allman, M. J., Capone, G. T., Deleon, I., Maslen, C., Reeves, R. H., Sherman, S. L., & Nadel, L. (2010). Development and validation of the Arizona Cognitive Test Battery for Down syndrome. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2(3), 149–164.

• Mason, G. M., Kurdziel, L.B.F., and Spencer, R.M.C. (April 2021). The structure and memory benefits of infant and toddler napping during the triphasic to biphasic transition. 2021 Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.
• Lokhandwala, S., Holmes, J., Mason, G., St. Laurent, C. Hanron, O., Andre, C.,... Spencer, R. (April 2021). Sleeping and Coping Patterns in Early Childhood in the Context of COVID-19. 2021 Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.
• Hanron, O., Mason, G. M., Holmes, J. F.,Spencer, R. (2020) Childhood Naps Promote Short-Term Destabilization but Long-Term Consolidation of Emotional Memories, 34th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies
• Holmes, J. F., Deighan, M. K., Miranda, N. W., Mason, G. M., Spencer, R. (2020) Effect of Naps on Preschoolers’ Consolidation of an Emotional Storybook. 34th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies
• Mason, G. M., Spencer, R. (2019) Co-sleeping And Sleep Quality In Preschool Children: Do Consistency And Partner Matter? 33rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies
• Mason, G. M., Schwade, J. A., Goldstein, M. H. (October 2019). Dyadic social interactions determine infant social attention and vigilance. International Society for Developmental Psychobiology 52nd Annual Meeting
• Mason, G. M., Kurdziel, L., Spencer, R. (October 2019). Comparing the physiology and memory benefits of morning and afternoon naps for 9-month-olds under typical and nap-restricted conditions. International Society for Developmental Psychobiology 52nd Annual Meeting
• Mason, G. M., Jones, E.J.H., Gliga, T., and the BASIS Team (2018). Microstructural analysis of parent-infant coordination and social attention among infants at risk for autism. 21st International Congress on Infant Studies.
• Mason, G. M., Goldstein, M.H. (2017). Using infant eye gaze to explore the neurobiology of social influences on early attention development. 2017 Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.
• Mason, G. M., Spanó, G., Anand, P., Sampsel, M., and Edgin, J.O. (2012). 21 and beyond: genetic contributions to executive function and attention in children with Down syndrome. 45th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology.
• Rodriguez, A., Breslin, J. H., Mason, G. M., Bootzin, R. R., Nadel, L., & Edgin, J. O. (2011). The Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene relates to respiratory arousals in children with Down syndrome. 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated-Professional-Sleep-Societies