Post on 12-Jan-2016
description
Undergraduate Research in Neuroscience
Terry D. Blumenthal, Ph. D.
Wake Forest University
The Neuroscience Minor at Wake Forest
• Launched in 2000, first students graduated with the minor in 2003
• Faculty in Biology, Computer Science, Philosophy, and Psychology
• Over 50 students graduated in the past 6 years
• Their success rate is stunning!
Requirements
• Required Courses: 7 credits• Elective Courses: 8 credits (Biology, Computer
Science, Health and Exercise Science, Philosophy, Psychology)
• Research: 2 credits
Research in Neuroscience
• Reynolda Campus
• Medical School
What Students Learn in My Lab
• How to read science
• Research design
• How to write an IRB proposal
• Equipment for presenting stimuli and measuring responses
• Data analysis plan
• Lab management
• Recruiting participants
and then the participant arrives . . .
• Interacting with the participant
• Attaching sensors
• Collecting data
• Scoring data
• Analyzing data
• Writing a report
• Planning the next step
What we use
• Startle eyeblink response• Skin conductance level and response• EKG• Finger pulse volume• Blood Pressure• Self-report questionnaires• Visual Analog Scale• Behavioral observation
Startle Eyeblink
• Sensitive, simple, easy• Cross-species• Developmental• Can be used to measure attention,
emotion, arousal, personality, drug effects, expectancy, sensory sensitivity, multisensory interaction, fear, anxiety, schizophrenia, habituation, life, the universe, and everything.
2.78056 2.98056 3.18056 3.38056seconds
-0.381877
0.381877
Vol
ts
Sou
nd
-0.007640
0.012360
0.032360
Vol
ts
scr
0.000000
0.001565
0.003131
0.004696
Vol
ts
C1
- In
tegr
ate
Startle Pathway
Startle CenternRPC
Facial Motor n.CN 7
Sound
“Touch”
Light
TrigeminalVestibular
Dorsal Column
Cochlear n.CN 8
Superior Colliculus
Amygdala
Tegmentum
Pre-Frontal Cortex
Basal Ganglia
OrbicularisOculi
Motor Cortex
What have they done?Personality Research
• Race rejection images and racial regard: Yolanda Lawson & Clark Shell (Journal of Youth and Adolescence)
• Schizoid, histrionic, borderline traits: Joe Franklin (SPR)
• Eating disorders: Joe Franklin (SPR)• Extraversion: Lynda Gioia, Jennifer Scruggs,
Kevin Muse (SPR)• Psychosis-prone: Joanna Thompson (SPR)
• Signal-to-noise ratio: Joe Franklin and Nicole Moretti (Psychophysiology; Biological Psychology)
• Magnitude estimation: Ed Ergenzinger (Perception & Psychophysics)
• Low-intensity sensitivity: Chris Goode (Psychophysiology)
What have they done?Psychophysics Research
• Social anxiety: Ashley Mays, Kevin Muse (Personality and Individual Differences; SPR)
• Social evaluation and perceptual processing: Lynda Gioia, Kevin Muse (SPR)
What have they done?Social Research
• Attention: Joe Franklin, Elisa Agrella, Cecilia McNamara (APS, SPR, SEPA)
• Time Estimation: Joe Franklin (SYNAPSE)• Pain: Scott Duncan (Advances in Psychological
Research)
What have they done?Cognitive Research
• Hormonal factors: Robert Linz (SPR)
• Caffeine and placebo responding, addiction, withdrawal, and conditioning: Ryan Newton, Marie White, Erika Carello, Pete Kardel, Nathan Schultheiss, Heather Scalf, Cecilia McNamara, Lisa Mann, Tim Ralston (SPR)
What have they done?Psychopharmacology Research
• Mood induction: Ed Ergenzinger (SEPA)• Anxiety: Ashley Mays (SPR, SYNAPSE)
What have they done?Emotion Research
• Legal: Ed Ergenzinger (Practical Dispute Resolution)
• Forensic: Nicole Dorthe (Forensic Sciences Meeting)
• Multisensory interaction: Chris Lovelace (Psychobiology)
• Computer Issues: Joe Cooper (Psychophysiology)
What have they done?Other Research
Where Do They Go?
• Neuroscience PhD programs
• Medical school
• Academic graduate school
• Law school
• Business and Industry (R&D)
What you need
• Flexibility: they will pull you in directions
• Fast ramp-up: they don’t have 3 years for training
• Mentoring: in all areas (design, data collection, analysis, writing, career, life)
• Keep your eye on the goal: scientists, not publications*
* Sometimes you get both!
What You Get
• Breadth of Ideas
• Depth of Thinking
• Current Connections
• Impact on the Field
A Breath of Fresh Air
• Enthusiasm
• Work ethic
• Challenging questions
• Teaching moments
• An unfolding future
Were they happy?
Yes!
And you will be too!
Thank you for your attention.
Let’s eat!