Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exposure To The Trier Social Stress Test Enhances Central Detail Memory, Reduces False Memory, And Results In Intrusive Memories That Last For Days, Mercedes L. Stanek, Kayla Boaz, Taylor D. Niese, Kristen E. Long, Matthew S. Risner, John G. Blasco, Koen N. Suzelis, Kelsey M. Siereveld, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Recent work has used a modified version of the well-known laboratory stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), to study participant memory for a stressful experience. The paradigm is useful because, unlike most studies examining stress effects on memory, it allows investigators to measure what participants remember about the stressor, not unrelated information. It also presents an opportunity to model other stress-related symptoms, such as intrusive memories, but these have yet to be assessed with this paradigm. Intrusive memories have been notoriously difficult to measure in laboratory settings; most of this research involves participants watching arousing videos and subsequently reporting …

Sex Differences In Stress Reactivity, Brain Morphology, And Oxytocin In The Hypothalamus Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica), Esperanza I. Zacarias, Daniela Rodriguez, Alexandra Chalons, Sasawan Heingraj, Nicole Altamirano, Joseph Rafac, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Understanding the effects of stress on behavior and cognition is important due to its impact on mental health and wellbeing (Schneiderman et al. 2005). Translational animal research can contribute to the development of new treatments that can improve therapeutic outcomes and our understanding of the neurobiology of stress. In the present study, we complement behavioral stress reactivity with immunohistochemical localization of oxytocin in the hypothalamus, a neuropeptide that regulates stress (Neumann & Slattery, 2016). Oxytocin has potential therapeutic use for mental health disorders (Neumann & Slattery, 2016), and the effects of oxytocin seem to be sexually dimorphic (Love, 2018). Using …

Understanding The Resources, Barriers, Facilitators And Interests About Aging And Dementia Research Of Community Members From The Rio Grande Valley, Karla Daniela Lopez Lorenzo, Rosa V. Pirela Mavarez, Gabriela Osuna, Kendra Stine, Nahalie Chacon De Alvarez, Noe Garza, Gladys E. Maestre

Research Symposium

Background: One of ten people aged 65 develops Alzheimer’s Disease and it is one of the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) is mostly constituted by Hispanic/Latinos (93%), a population that has a 1.5X increased risk of AD onset. Nevertheless, there are not enough resources to support people living with dementia and their care partners. This study will leverage research efforts deployed by the RGV Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research to understand the social representations about the resources, barriers, facilitators, and interests of the RGV community about dementia and Alzheimer’s …

A Dynamical Model Of Binding In Visual Cortex During Incremental Grouping And Search, Daniel Schmid, Daniel A. Braun, Heiko Neumann

MODVIS Workshop

Binding of visual information is crucial for several perceptual tasks. To incrementally group an object, elements in a space-feature neighborhood need to be bound together starting from an attended location (Roelfsema, TICS, 2005). To perform visual search, candidate locations and cued features must be evaluated conjunctively to retrieve a target (Treisman&Gormican, Psychol Rev, 1988). Despite different requirements on binding, both tasks are solved by the same neural substrate. In a model of perceptual decision-making, we give a mechanistic explanation for how this can be achieved. The architecture consists of a visual cortex module and a higher-order thalamic module. While the …

Assessing The Impact Of Lipopolysaccharide On Learning And Memory In Rats, Anahat Luthra

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The immune system and the central nervous system (CNS) have a bi-direction relationship, modulating one another.⁴ Proinflammatory cytokines released from CNS immune cells have an impact on cognitive processes such as learning and memory.¹ Liposaccharide (LPS), a cell wall component of Gram-negative bacteria, which is used to activate proinflammatory cytokine release has been found to impact learning and memory processes, such as in the anticipatory nausea paradigm (ANP).² Anticipatory nausea and vomiting is that which may occur before a chemotherapy treatment session begins in a patient who has had chemotherapy before. It is caused by triggers like …

Using A Musical Beat To Influence Linguistic Statistical Learning, Aspen Leung

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The similarities between music and language continue to provide research questions in the area of psychology. Despite the large amount of research on this area of knowledge, there are still many existing questions in regards to the processing of musical and linguistic stimuli. Statistical learning involves the ability to extract statistical regularities from a stimulus and continues to be studied in both domains due to the similar hierarchical structure of music and language. Recently, neural entrainment (the synchronization of neural oscillations with the rhythm of an external stimulus) has been studied as a mechanism of statistical learning. Music has been …

The Ommaba Project, Katsiaryna Buchko

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The Open Multimodal Music and Auditory Brain Archive (OMMABA) is the first multimodal (behavioural, EEG, and neuroimaging) database characterizing normal human auditory processing. My project aims to shed light on the importance of this collaborative project that is transforming the field of auditory cognitive neuroscience.

Validity Of Neural Distance Measures In Representational Similarity Analysis, Fabian A. Soto, Emily R. Martin, Hyeonjeong Lee, Nafiz Ahmed, Juan Estepa, Kianoosh Hosseini, Olivia A. Stibolt, Valentina Roldan, Alycia Winters, Mohammadreza Bayat

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Visual Expertise In An Anatomically-Inspired Model Of The Visual System, Garrison W. Cottrell, Martha Gahl, Shubham Kulkarni

MODVIS Workshop

We report on preliminary results of an anatomically-inspired deep learning model of the visual system and its role in explaining the face inversion effect. Contrary to the generally accepted wisdom, our hypothesis is that the face inversion effect can be accounted for by the representation in V1 combined with the reliance on the configuration of features due to face expertise. We take two features of the primate visual system into account: 1) The foveated retina; and 2) The log-polar mapping from retina to V1. We simulate acquisition of faces, etc., by gradually increasing the number of identities the network learns. …

Identifying And Localizing Multiple Objects Using Artificial Ventral And Dorsal Visual Cortical Pathways, Zhixian Han, Anne Sereno

MODVIS Workshop

We concluded in our previous study that model cortical visual pathways actively retained information differently according to the different goals of the training tasks. One limitation of our study was that there was only one object in each input image whereas in reality there may be multiple objects in a scene. In our current study, we try to find a brain-like algorithm that can recognize and localize multiple objects.

Intergenerational Transmission Of Functional Connectivity Profiles In Isolated Reading And Math Networks: A Scoping Review And Study Proposal, Ashini Peiris, Ira Gupta, Lien Peters, Eric D. Wilkey

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The scoping review surveyed the existing literature on the topic of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and mathematical cognition. The review revealed that rsFC is indicative of distinct long-term developmental trends in mathematical processing, alluding to individual differences in math abilities. Though there have been multiple studies that investigate individual differences in functional connectivity patterns related to math development and math learning disorders, no study has directly investigated to what degree these neurobiological factors are heritable. To address this topic, the following intergenerational transmission (IT) study is proposed. IT is the transfer of personal values, abilities, behaviours, and traits, from parents …

Familiarity As A Motivator For Information-Seeking, Danielle Raynes-Goldfinger

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Curiosity is an integral part of motivation and results in information-seeking behaviors to obtain rewarding information. Theories on curiosity suggest that it occurs when an information gap is detected. Here, we explored whether the assessment of familiarity may result in the induction of curiosity. We employed 3 phases, the first involving memorization of face-name pairs. Next, participants were presented with new and the old faces and were asked to judge whether they fully remembered the name, whether the face was familiar despite the name being unrecallable, or whether the face nor name was familiar. To conclude, we allowed participants to …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Pornography: Adolescent Brain Development & Addiction, William K. Canady

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight three segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention.

The Dissociable Impact Of Auditory Vs. Visual Emotional Cues On Visual Processing, Emma K. Stewart Bsc, Derek Gv Mitchell Phd

Western Research Forum

Background: Emotional information has privileged access to processing resources, which can cause it to have a distracting or facilitating effect on task performance for reasons that are poorly understood. The sensory modality through which it is presented may be one determining factor. Some findings suggest that auditory stimuli facilitate visual task performance while visual stimuli interfere with it, but there are conflicting findings.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that emotional content of a different sensory modality from the task improves task-related performance via a general alerting and arousing effect for all stimuli, while emotional content of the same modality disrupts performance when …

Spontaneous Mimicry Of Emotional Facial Expressions As A Function Of Trait Sadism, Cathleen Fleury, Mary Ritchie, Derek Mitchell

Western Research Forum

Using electromyography (EMG), it has been shown that facial muscles imperceptibly mirror the facial expressions of others, a phenomenon referred to as spontaneous facial mimicry. Facial mimicry may be involved in empathy processing, and is impaired in several empathy deficit disorders. It was previously believed to follow the direct-matching principle, a theory postulating that spontaneous facial mimicry involves the observer mirroring their partner’s expression exactly. However, several recent studies have demonstrated that context and individual differences may be influencing factors of spontaneous facial mimicry. In the present study, we propose to investigate the relationship between facial mimicry and empathy through …

Forgotten Children & Bonds That Heal: The Critical Nature Of Attachment, August Ashbaker

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

Human attachment is one of the most critical factors in proper neurological and physiological development. Attachment is built through the mutuality of emotional impact, as well as the regular reception of physical touch. Infants and children who have been deprived of these vital necessities through the lacking initiatives of their caregivers—through neglect—display visible signs of its physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impact. Research has found neglect to be the highest risk factor for permanent damage to brain development in comparison to other forms of complex trauma (i.e. chronic caregiver interpersonal trauma in childhood); it is also the most prevalent …

Examining Delayed Onset Of Dementia In The Bilingual Geriatric Population, Erica Brown, Elizabeth Hartman

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Background: Dementia is the largest cause of dependency and disability in older adults, affecting nearly 50 million people worldwide with about 10 million new cases every year. Presently, there are no cures for dementia. Consequently, a growing body of evidence suggests that bilingualism may delay the onset of clinical dementia symptoms by several years.

Objectives: The purpose of this review is to summarize and analyze current evidence from studies that examined how bilingualism delays the onset of dementia. Evidence is reviewed suggesting that bilingualism may delay the dementia symptoms due to an increase in cognitive reserve, which refers to an …

Temporal Information Guides Prefrontal Preparatory Activity, Jacqueline R. Janowich

Shared Knowledge Conference

Proactive preparation for an upcoming goal differs from last-minute reactive adaptation, but it is unclear how preparatory mechanisms change based on when in the future a goal needs to be executed. To assess how timing information is integrated into preparatory control, we designed a novel variant of the Dot Pattern Expectancy task, where each cue signaled both task rule and delay duration (known short, known long, or unknown) between cue and probe. We recorded EEG while healthy young adult participants (n=36) performed this task, and found that delay demands elicited distinct prefrontal preparatory activities. Medial prefrontal amplitude was sensitive to …

Linking Signal Detection Theory And Encoding Models To Reveal Independent Neural Representations From Neuroimaging Data, Fabian A. Soto

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

A Feature-Based Model Of Visually Perceiving Deformable Objects, Vivian C. Paulun, Filipp Schmidt, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Global Estimation Of Signed 3d Surface Tilt From Natural Images, Seha Kim, Johannes Burge

MODVIS Workshop

The ability of human visual systems to estimate 3D surface orientation from 2D retinal images is critical. But the computation to calculate 3D orientation in real-world scenes is not fully understood. A Bayes optimal model grounded in natural statistics has explained 3D surface tilt estimation of human observers in natural scenes (Kim and Burge, 2018). However, the model is limited because it estimates only unsigned tilt (tilt modulo 180deg). We extend the model to predict signed tilt estimates and compared with human signed estimates. The model takes image pixels as input and produces optimal estimates of tilt as output, using …

Inferring The Neural Representation Of Faces From Adaptation Aftereffects, Kara J. Emery, Michael A. Webster Ph.D.

MODVIS Workshop

The aftereffects of adaptation to faces have been studied widely, in part to characterize the coding schemes for representing different facial attributes. Often these aftereffects have been interpreted in terms of two alternative models of face processing: 1) a norm-based or opponent code, in which the facial dimension is represented by relative activity in a pair of broadly-tuned mechanisms with opposing sensitivities; or 2) an exemplar code, in which the dimension is sampled by multiple channels narrowly-tuned to different levels of the stimulus. Evidence for or against these alternatives is based on the different patterns of aftereffects they predict (e.g. …

Effect Of Noise On Mutually Inhibiting Pyramidal Cells In Visual Cortex: Foundation Of Stochasticity In Bi-Stable Perception, Naoki Kogo, Felix Kern, Thomas Nowotny, Raymond Van Ee, Richard Van Wezel, Takeshi Aihara

MODVIS Workshop

Bi-stable perception has been an important tool to investigate how visual input is interpreted and how it reaches consciousness. To explain the mechanisms of this phenomenon, it has been assumed that a mutual inhibition circuit plays a key role. It is possible that this circuit functions to resolve ambiguity of input image by quickly shifting the balance of competing signals in response to conflicting features. Recently we established an in vitro neural recording system combined with computerized connections mediated by model neurons and synapses (“dynamic clamp” system). With this system, mutual inhibition circuit between two pyramidal cells from primary visual …

Divisive Inhibition As A Solution To The Correspondence Problem In Perceptual Grouping, Chien-Chung Chen, Yi-Shiuan Lin, Li Lin

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Discovery Of Activities Via Statistical Clustering Of Fixation Patterns, Jeffrey B. Mulligan

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Multisensory Integration And Autistic Traits Using Non-Sociolinguistic Information, Sébastien A. Lauzon, Samantha E. Schulz, Zack I. Cohen, Ryan A. Stevenson

Western Research Forum

Background: Sensory processing issues are one of the most common complaints in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One area of sensory difficulties in ASD that has been the focus of intense research in recent years is multisensory integration (MSI), or the ability to bind auditory and visual information into a single, unified percept. While integration of social or linguistic information is consistently shown to be an area of difficulty in ASD, results are less clear with simple, non-sociolinguistic stimuli. This study aims to address this ambiguity by determining whether MSI of non-sociolinguistic sensory information is related to traits and symptomatology …

Domain-General And Domain-Specific Brain Regions Involved In Statistical-Sequential Learning, Phillip Loan

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Neural Circuits For Source Memory And Imagination, Amber C. Grant, Darryl Burnet

Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

P24. The Birds And The Beats: Perception Of A Beat In An Avian Model, Brendon Samuels

Western Research Forum

Background: Beat perception is a complex cognitive skill that enables humans to “feel” the beat in music, and is an essential component of synchronization of behavior and dance. The mechanisms in the human brain that facilitate beat perception are not entirely understood, and have only been studied thus far using non-invasive techniques. Some animals, such as songbirds, also seem to be able to detect a beat in rhythms, though this has never been formally tested independent of motor synchronization.

Methods: An operant experiment is used to assess if European starlings, a type of songbird, are capable of categorizing …