William McIlvane, Ph.D.

Faculty Appointment(s) In:
   Psychiatry

Other Affiliation(s):
   Clinical and Population Health Research
   Program in Neuroscience
   Shriver Center

Research Interests

Dr. Mcllvane directs a broad research program that addresses a variety of scientific problems relevant to understanding and perhaps correcting behavior deficits of persons with neurodevelopmental disabilities. One area of deficit, for example, is in symbolic behaviors involved in communication (speaking, listening, reading, writing, etc.). One focus of his program is development of methods to encourage progressively more rapid learning of symbolic behaviors. Another is to adapt behavioral neuroscience methods - including animal modeling - to further understanding of brain processes involved in symbolic behavior. A second focus of Dr. Mcllvane's program is to develop valid nonverbal neuropsychological testing methods for use with individuals and populations that do not understand verbal instructions. Methods developed in this aspect of his research have been adapted to further understanding of the behavioral profiles associated with disorders such as autism, depression, and neurotoxicant exposure. In addition, Dr. Mcllvane's program has a strong research-to-practice emphasis. For example, methods emerging from laboratory research are being used to teach practical skills in regular and special education classrooms in both the United States and in Brasil.

Ongoing Projects

Studies in Stimulus Control in Mental Retardation
Behavioral Studies of Mental Retardation and Depression
Process Analysis in Behavioral Allocation and Persistence in Severe Mental Retardation
Translational Studies of Neurobehavioral Effects of Mercury Exposure
Optimizing Discrete-Trial Procedures for Autism Spectrum Disorder Children
Tests of Attention and Memory in Individuals with Intellectual Limitations

Selected Recent Publications:

Debert, P. Huziwara, E., Faggiani, R., & McIlvane, W. (in press). Emergent conditional relations in a go/no-go procedure: Figure-ground and stimulus-position compound relations. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Gil, M. S. C. A., Oliveira, T. P., & McIlvane, W. J. (in press). Conditional discriminations by preverbal children in an identity matching-to-sample task. The Psychological Record.

Haimson, B., Wilkinson, K. M., Rosenquist, C., Ouimet, C., & McIlvane, W. J. (in press). Electrophysiological correlates of stimulus equivalence processes. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

McIlvane, W. J., Dube, W. V., Lionello-DeNolf , K. M., Serna, R. W., Barros, R. S., & Galvão, O. F. (in press). Some current dimensions of translational behavior analysis: From laboratory research to intervention for persons with autism spectrum disorders. In J. Mulick & E. Mayville (Eds.). Behavioral foundations of effective autism treatment. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

Dube, W. V., Ahearn, W. H., Lionello-DeNolf, K. M., & McIlvane, W. J. (2009). Behavioral momentum: Translational research in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Behavior Analyst Today, 10, 238-253.

de Souza, D.G., de Rose, J.C., Faleiros, T.C., Bortoloti, R., Hanna, E.S., & McIlvane, W.J. (2009). Teaching generative reading via recombination of minimal textual units: A legacy of Verbal Behavior to children in Brazil. The International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 9, 19-44.

Hubner, M. C., Gomes, R. C., & McIlvane, W. J. (2009). Recombinative generalization in minimal verbal unit-based reading instruction for pre-reading children. Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, 27, 11-17.

Wilkinson, K. M., Rosenquist, C., & McIlvane, W. J. (2009). “Exclusion” learning and emergent symbolic category formation in individuals with severe language impairments and intellectual disabilities. (2009). The Psychological Record, 59, 187-206.

Almeida-Verdu, A. C., Huziwara, E. M., de Souza, D., de Rose, J. C., Lopes, J. Jr., Bevilacqua, M. C. & McIlvane, W. J. (2008). Relational learning in children with deafness and cochlear implants. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 89, 407-424.

Charlot, L., Deutsch, C. K., Albert, A., Hunt, A., Connor, D. F., & McIlvane, W. J. (2008). Mood and anxiety symptoms in psychiatric inpatients with autism spectrum disorder and depression. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 1, 238-253.

Deutsch, C. K., Dube, W. V., & McIlvane, W. J. (2008). Attention deficits, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and intellectual disabilities. Developmental Disabilities Research Review, 14,285-292.

Deutsch, C. K., Ludwig, W. W.,, & McIlvane, W. J. (2008). Heterogeneity and hypothesis testing in neuropsychiatric illness.Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31, 266-267.

Ferrari, C., de Rose, J. C., & McIlvane, W. J. (2008). A comparison of exclusion and trial-and-error procedures: Primary and secondary effects.Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, 29, 9-16

Lionello-DeNolf, K. M., Barros, R. S., & McIlvane, W. J. (2008). A novel method for teaching the first instances of simple discrimination to nonverbal children with autism in a laboratory environment. The Psychological Record, 58, 229-244.

Lionello-DeNolf, K. M., McIlvane, W. J.,Canovas, D., de Souza, D., & Barros, R. S. (2008) Reversal learning set and contingency class formation in children with and without autism. The Psychological Record, 58, 15-36.

Charlot, L ; Deutsch, C; Hunt, A; Fletcher, K.; McIlvane, W. Validation of the mood and anxiety semi-structured (MASS) interview for patients with intellectual disabilities (2007). Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 51,821-834.

Debert, P., Matos, M. A., & McIlvane, W. J. (2007). Conditional relations with compound abstract stimuli. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 87, 89-96.

Lionello-DeNolf, K. M., Dube, W. V., & McIlvane, W. J. (2007). Exclusive preference on concurrent schedules by children with autism spectrum disorder. Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, 25, 6-10.

Charlot, L ; Deutsch, C; Hunt, A; Fletcher, K.; McIlvane, W. Validation of the mood and anxiety semi-structured (MASS) interview for patients with intellectual disabilities (2007). Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 51, 821-834.

Barros, R. S., Lionello-DeNolf, K., Dube, W. V., & Mcilvane, W. J. (2006). Equivalence class formation via identity matching to sample and simple discrimination with class-specific consequences. Revista Brasileira De Análise Do Comportamento, 2, 79-92.

da Silva, W. R., de Souza, D., de Rose, J. C., Lopes, J. Jr., Bevilacqua, M. C. & McIlvane, W. J. (2006). Relational learning in deaf children with cochlear implants. Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, 24, 1-8.

Dube, W. V. & McIlvane, W. J. (2006). Behavior-analytic experimental strategies and motivational processes in persons with mental retardation. In H. Switzky, L. Hickson, & R. Schalock (Eds.), International review of research in mental retardation, Vol. 31: Mental retardation, personality, and motivational systems (pp. 261-288). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Matos, M. A., Avanzi, A. L., & McIlvane, W. J. (2006). Rudimentary reading repertoires via stimulus equivalence and recombination of minimal verbal units. Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 22, 3-19.

Barros, R. S., Galvão, O. F., Brino, A. L. F., Goulart, P. R. K, & McIlvane, W. J. (2005). Variaveis de procedimento na pesquisa sobre classes de equivalencia: contribuicoes para o estudo do comportamento simbólico. Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento, 1, 15-27.

Galvão, O. F., Barros, R. S., Brandão, S., Lavratti, C. M., Santos, J. R., Brino, A. L. F., Dube, W. V., & McIlvane, W. J. (2005). Extent and limits of the matching concept in Cebus apella: A matter of experimental control? The Psychological Record, 55, 219-232.

Additional information about lab rotations within the CPHR program can be found at http://www.umassmed.edu/cphr/program/rotations.aspx 

Academic Background

B.A., New York University, 1974
M.A., Northeastern University, 1978
Ph.D., Northeastern University, 1986

Current Appointments:

2006 -   NICHD DSR Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center SEP

2006 -   Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

2003 -   Director, E. K. Shriver Center (EKS), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Waltham, MA

2000 -  Professor (tenured), Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

1994 -  Director, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center  Research Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

Professional Service:

2001-2005 Program Director, Gatlinburg Conference for Research on MR/DD
2000- President, Division 25, American Psychological Association
1999  Board Coordinator for Research and Science Policy, Association for Behavior Analysis
1997-2004 Massachusetts Governor's Commission on Mental Retardation
1995- Board of Editors, Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities Research Review
1992- Associate Editor, International Review of Research in Mental Retardation

Office: Shriver
Phone: 781-642-0153
E-mail: William.Mcilvane@umassmed.edu
Keywords: Child Mental Health, Health Disparities, Learning and Memory, Disability, Obesity

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