- Comparative Cognition Laboratory - Dr. Michael Brown
The Comparative Cognition Laboratory is concerned with the study of basic cognitive processes using animal subjects and behavioral experiments. Current and recent projects include spatial memory and spatial pattern learning in rats, social memories in rats, and spatial working memory in honey bees.
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory - Dr. Diego Fernandez-Duque
We do research in Cognition broadly defined. Current and recent topics include lay theories (such as people’s beliefs about the relation between mind and brain), false consensus (such as the belief that others will agree with your ethics), and academic stereotypes (such as believing that neuroscientists are more competent but less warm than psychologists), We also do work on judgment and decision making, most recently in the area of charitable donations.
- Adult Visual Cognition Laboratory - Dr. Charles L. Folk
The Adult Visual Cognition Lab is primarily interested in understanding modeling visual selective attention in humans. We conduct behavioral studies in which patterns of response times and error rates are used to infer the mechanisms responsible for determining how attention gets allocated to stimuli in the environment.
- Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Laboratory - Dr. Irene Kan
Research in our lab focuses on human memory functions. By combining behavioral, neuropsychological (i.e., studying patients with brain damage), and electrophysiological methods (i.e., EEG & ERP), we hope to gain a better understanding of how different memory systems complement each other.
- Temporal Perception Laboratory - Dr. Matthew Matell
The primary focus of the lab is to elucidate the psychological and neuronal bases of time perception. The flow of time underlies all processes in nature, and the perception of time in the seconds to minutes range, referred to as interval timing, provides animals with a framework to efficiently meet the demands and constraints of a dynamic environment. Interval timing has been proposed to serve as a substrate for optimal foraging1 and associative learning2 and may provide a context for conscious awareness. Furthermore, alterations in the perception of time might contribute to the use and abuse of addictive drugs. Although the basic psychophysical properties have been well characterized, the neural structures and neural computational processes underlying interval timing remain unclear.
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience of Behavior Laboratory - Dr. Benjamin Sachs
Research in the lab utilizes a combination of cellular, molecular and behavioral approaches in genetically modified mice to investigate the neurobiological underpinnings of animal behavior. We are particularly interested in understanding how genetic (i.e., serotonin deficiency) and environmental factors (e.g., stress) can lead to behavioral alterations relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders.
- Memory & Cognition Laboratory - Dr. Thomas Toppino
The Memory & Cognition Lab studies many aspects of cognition in human adults and children. Recent projects have emphasized basic learning and memory processes and the processes that contribute to conscious perceptual experience in vision.
- Word Recognition and Auditory Perception Laboratory - Dr. Joe Toscano
Our group studies speech recognition and language comprehension. We use a combination of behavioral, cognitive neuroscience, and computational techniques to study these processes as they unfold over time, both in the moment and over longer time-scales. Our research also addresses questions about how we can improve assessment of hearing loss and how we can use computer games to study speech communication.
- Scientific Thinking and Representation (STAR) Lab - Dr. Deena Weisberg
The Scientific Thinking and Representation (STAR) Lab studies (1) how children acquire scientific knowledge, particularly the potential role of fictional stories in this learning, (2) why adults are resistant to scientific information on certain topics, and (3) how children’s scientific thinking abilities develop.