The Buzz » brain and cognitive sciences

A Vision Scientist In The Making

Melissa Greco Lopes — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:38:42 +0000

By Blake Silberberg
Univ. Communications

Aaron Levi, a brain and cognitive sciences (BCS) major and current senior at the University of Rochester, is taking part in exciting research being done at the Flaum Eye Institute in the University’s Medical Center. Levi works with Dr. Krystal Huxlin on research to develop rehabilitation techniques for individuals who have lost visual perception due to stroke.

Levi became interested in BCS after taking the introductory courses in his freshman year. “I thought all of the course material was so interesting and often so relevant to everyday life,” he says. “It was really amazing to see how important your brain is to every function of your body and mind, and how it can build such complex behaviors from such basic functions.”

Levi became involved in research after attending a job fair and reaching out to his professors for information about ongoing projects. Before joining his current lab, Levi had the opportunity to work in a glial cell lab that focused on molecular neuroscience. “The University has such a large amount of research happening, which makes it pretty easy to try things out and find your own interests,” he explains. “Being able to participate in different types of specialized research within neuroscience has been an extremely valuable experience and allowed me to find where my own interests lie.”

Currently, Levi’s role involves testing the rehabilitation techniques on volunteers, and analyzing the effectiveness of the training programs. The program involves testing the subjects on simple visual stimuli, such as moving dots and bars. These exercises are conducted repeatedly throughout a training program, where Levi collects and analyzes how the subject’s responses improve over time. Additionally, the lab uses fMRI equipment to help map out the visual processing activity occurring in the subject’s brain.

After graduation this year, Levi hopes to continue to work in BCS research while applying to graduate programs. “Participating in research as an undergraduate has let me apply the things I’ve learned in class in a hands-on manner,” he says. “Learning new lab techniques also has given me an advantage in classes, and will certainly be valuable in applying for a graduate degree.”

Article written by Blake Silberberg, an intern at University Communications and a member of the Piggies. Silberberg is a senior majoring in political science. Photos courtesy of Aaron Levi.

Spotlight on Natural Sciences and Humanities Alumni: Matt Hall

Melissa Greco Lopes — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:12:53 +0000

Name: Matt Hall
Age: 31
Education (UR and additional): B.A. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences & American Sign Language, University of Rochester, 2003; M.A. at UC San Diego, 2008; PhD expected 2012
Current city/state of residence: San Diego CA
Job Title: Doctoral student
Employer: UC San Diego
Community activities: although grad school keeps me pretty busy, I remain active in my church and in a nonprofit organization called the Gay Christian Network. I also moonlight as a professional singer in several choral ensembles around San Diego, and am a partner in a small business providing a cappella music for weddings and other events throughout southern California (www.sandiegoweddingsingers.com).

When and how did you choose your major?

I came to UR specifically because the Brain & Cognitive Sciences department offered a track in psycholinguistics. Coming out of high school, I knew that I loved both biology and language, and I thought I was going to have to choose between them. Studying the biological basis of language was even better! Also, I was curious about sign language in high school but never had an opportunity to learn. Imagine my surprise -and delight- at discovering that my psycholinguistics professor was deaf and giving lectures in ASL (with a voice interpreter for the sign-impaired)! The rich interconnections between psycholinguistics and ASL were apparent to me from day one of my freshman year, and I quickly became a BCS-ASL double major.

What did you do immediately after graduation? How did you decide to take that path?

I knew that grad school was likely for me at some point, but before diving into a PhD program that required 60-80 hours of studying & research per week, I thought I’d start by looking for a research assistant position at 40 hours per week. I applied to several labs around the country and received offers from leading researchers at Columbia and Harvard. However, I decided to stay at UR to continue the research I had begun for my senior honors project, thanks to generous support from two BCS professors. I worked full-time doing behavioral and neuroimaging research for three years, during which time I refined my ultimate research goals and assured myself that I was prepared for grad school.

What do you do now and why did you choose this career?

I am in the final stages of obtaining a PhD in cognitive psychology from UC San Diego, where I take advantage of the diversity of human communication (speech, writing, sign language, gesture) to ask questions about how communication and cognition interact with and mutually constrain each other. I am fortunate to follow the pioneers whose life’s work convinced scholars that sign languages are full human languages; now, my generation has the opportunity to ask what sign languages can teach us about how all human language works.

What skills, tools, or knowledge from your major have been most useful to you since graduation?

It’s hard to imagine what skills, tools, or knowledge might not have been useful! The work I do now is a direct outgrowth of my undergraduate education. The coursework laid an appropriate foundation for further study, and prepared to me to teach broadly about cognition. My research experience in labs and in through the honors research program set the stage for my current research pursuits. My sign language skills have also proven to be a highly marketable asset, and that has been true for my first job after graduating, for admission to graduate programs, and even now in my postdoctoral job search.

Where would you like to be in five years?

Five years from now, I hope to have secured a faculty position at a research university where my work would focus on establishing evidence-based best practices for maximizing both language and cognitive development in deaf children. Many medical professionals continue to recommend that deaf children not be exposed to sign language, especially if they receive a cochlear implant. My goal as a researcher is to first determine whether there is any empirical justification for this practice, and if not, to pursue what other approaches most fully maximize a deaf child’s potential. I predict that early exposure to natural sign language will be chief among these, but at present it remains an empirical question.

Nine Rochester Students Awarded Fellowships for Graduate Research

Melissa Greco Lopes — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:17:27 +0000

Univ. Communications – Nine University of Rochester students and six alumni have been named recipients of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Additionally, 18 current students and recent alumni also were given honorable mentions by the NSF. The fellowship, which is part of a federally sponsored program, provides up to three years of graduate study support for students pursing doctoral or research-based master’s degrees. Since the program’s inception in 1952, it has supported nearly 50,000 students conducting research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and selected social science disciplines. Of the more than 12,000 applicants, only 2,000 were awarded fellowships and 1,783 were given honorable mentions. The fellowship includes a three-year annual stipend of $30,000, a $10,500 educational allowance to the institution, and international research and professional development opportunities.

The following graduating seniors received fellowships:

Emilia Sola-Gracia ’12, bachelor of science in ecology and evolutionary biology
David Kaphan ’12, bachelor of science in chemistry
Sharese King ’12, bachelor of arts in linguistics, minor in American Sign Language
Mark D. Levin ’12, bachelor of science in chemistry, minor in mathematics
Susan Pratt ’12, bachelor of arts in mathematics and bachelor of science in physics

The following graduating seniors received honorable mentions:

Chad Hunter ’12, bachelor of science in chemical engineering, minor in mathematics
Matej Penciak ’12, bachelor of science in physics and bachelor of arts in mathematics
Benjamin E.R. Snyder ’12, bachelor of science in chemistry and bachelor of arts in mathematics

The following graduate students received fellowships:

Michael Baranello, doctoral degree candidate in chemical engineering
Ellie Carrell, doctoral degree candidate in pharmacology and physiology
Jason Inzana, doctoral degree candidate in biomedical engineering
Vijay Jain, doctoral degree candidate in physics

The following graduate students received honorable mentions:

Esteban Buz, doctoral degree candidate in brain and cognitive sciences
Dev Crasta, doctoral degree candidate in clinical and social sciences in psychology
Adam B. Johnson, doctoral degree candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology
Patrick S. Murphy, doctoral degree candidate in microbiology & immunology
Ian Perera, doctoral degree candidate in computer science

The following recent alumni, who are currently pursing advanced degrees elsewhere, received fellowships:

Molly Boutin ’11, bachelor of science in biomedical engineering
Caitlin Hilliard ’10, bachelor of arts in brain and cognitive sciences and American Sign Language
Patrick Sheehan ’11, bachelor of science in physics & astronomy and bachelor of arts in mathematics
Raisa Trubko ’10, bachelor of arts in physics and bachelor of science in optics
David J. Weinberg ’11, bachelor of science in chemistry
Hannah (Geswein) Williamson ’08, bachelor of arts in psychology

The following recent alumni, many of whom are currently pursing advanced degrees elsewhere, received honorable mentions:

Samuel Anderson ’11, bachelor of science in chemistry
Isthier Chaudhury ’11, bachelor of science in chemical engineering and bachelor of arts in interdepartmental programs
Emily (Grzybowski) Dennis ’11, bachelor of science in molecular genetics and bachelor of arts in studio arts
Aaron Gorenstein ’11, bachelor of science in computer science
Seth Kallman ’09, bachelor of science in brain & cognitive sciences
Kathleen Mulvaney ’10, bachelor of science in molecular genetics
Alison Ossip-Klein ’10, bachelor of science in ecology and evolutionary biology
Camillia Redding ’10, bachelor of arts in political science
Maria Strangas ’10, bachelor of science in ecology & evolutionary biology
Adam Williamson’08, bachelor of science in electrical & computer engineering and bachelor of arts in physics

Article written by Melissa Greco Lopes, editor of The Buzz and student life publicist in University Communications. Photo courtesy of the NSF website.

Rochester’s School of Rock

Melissa Greco Lopes — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:03:32 +0000

Univ. Communications – Want to know the difference between Death Metal, Black Metal, Speed Metal, and Doom Metal? Want to get credit for going to rock out at a Judas Priest concert? Want to listen critically to head-spinning guitar riffs and write argumentatively about issues of censorship in popular culture? Then Josef Hanson’s History of Heavy Metal class is just what you need.

For the first time this year the course is included in the University curriculum and it is enjoying an enthusiastic reception. Hanson, who has previously taught a version of the class during the summer Rochester Scholars program for area high school students, was happy to create a collegiate version of the course.

Why study Metal you may ask? There are three principle reasons besides the novelty factor, he explained. First, Metal is the most enduring form of rock music to date. Musical styles such as that of the Beatles’ or other popular genres have waxed and waned over the decades. But since the release of Black Sabbath’s first album in 1970, Metal has existed in one form or another without significant changes to its core elements.

Second, Hanson and his students confirm, the genre is rich in music theory and technical virtuosity. “These people are really talented musicians,” said sophomore Paige Iovine, a Music and Brain & Cognitive Sciences double major. “You just see how much dedication it takes to learning that instrument. I love Baroque music and we even discussed it in the class, how there’s a huge influence of Bach and Vivaldi. People think of it as a very gritty, dirty kind of music, but there’s also this higher level to it…It’s a type of music that really doesn’t get as much appreciation as it should for how good it actually is,” she concluded.

Finally, the issues of censorship and public political debates over the limits to creative expression are intimately connected to the history of Metal music. “Nowhere has there been a witch hunt in terms of ‘music’s creating problems in society, music’s creating teenage pregnancies, music’s forcing people to commit suicide,’” to the extent that is has existed in the reception of this genre, Hanson explained. “It’s the kind of music that a lot of people put a huge taboo on for no reason that’s particularly good,” added Iovine.

Almost forty students are in the class and Hanson did not have a single one drop since the beginning of the semester. He has tried to include more open-ended assignments, critical writing tasks, and opportunities for students to pursue their own research. Some have contacted Metal musicians and historians for interviews and one student is making a documentary about the Metal music scene in Rochester.

What has attracted students to the class is often a personal history with the music. Junior T.J. Davison, a double major in Political Science and Brain & Cognitive Sciences, has loved and played Metal for years. “I’ve listened to Metal for a while, since probably like high school, and my little brother he plays the drums, I play guitar, and so it’s really fun to jam out to like Metalica or something.”

“It’s actually probably my favorite class that I’ve taken so far,” said Iovine, “My dad played in a lot of local bands and my brother plays guitar really well and he does a lot of Death Metal, like Thrash Metal kind of stuff, so that was kind of the music I grew up on.”

When asked why studying the subject is a worthwhile endeavor, Davison retorted, “There’s just as much structure and depth in Metal as there is in really any other genre of music. Yeah, it doesn’t appeal to everyone but you know, neither does classical music, and for that matter, neither does rap music. But I think that every form of music, especially that gets as big as all of these genres have been, should be studied for the musical elements that make us enjoy it.”

Article written by Maya Dukmasova, a Take 5 Scholar at the University of Rochester and an intern at University Communications. She majored in philosophy and religion and focused her Take 5 year on researching the way American media covers current events in the Muslim world. An aspiring journalist, Dukmasova has freelanced for Rochester Magazine, the Phoenix New Times, and the Daily News Egypt in Cairo. She also maintains two blogs, one devoted to culture and society in Russia (www.out-of-russia.com) and the other to photography (www.myorientalism.com).

Focus on Faculty: Study Shows Parents’ ‘um’s’ and ‘uh’s’ Help Toddlers Learn

Melissa Greco Lopes — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:16:48 +0000

Univ. Communications – A team of cognitive scientists has good news for parents who are worried that they are setting a bad example for their children when they say “um” and “uh.” A study conducted at the University of Rochester’s Baby Lab shows that toddlers actually use their parents’ stumbles and hesitations (technically referred to as disfluencies) to help them learn language more efficiently.

Listen to a sample disfluency from the study here.

For instance, say you’re walking through the zoo with your two-year-old and you are trying to teach him animal names. You point to the rhinoceros and say, “Look at the, uh, uh, rhinoceros.” It turns out that as you are fumbling for the correct word, you are also sending your child a signal that you are about to teach him something new, so he should pay attention, according to the researchers.

Young kids have a lot of information to process while they listen to an adult speak, including many words that they have never heard before. If a child’s brain waits until a new word is spoken and then tries to figure out what it means after the fact, it becomes a much more difficult task and the child is apt to miss what comes next, says Richard Aslin, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester and one of the study’s authors.

“The more predictions a listener can make about what is being communicated, the more efficiently the listener can understand it,” Aslin said.

The study, which was conducted by Celeste Kidd, a graduate student at the University of Rochester, Katherine White, a former postdoctoral fellow at Rochester who is now at the University of Waterloo, and Aslin was published online today in the journal Developmental Science.

The researchers studied three groups of children between the ages of 18 and 30 months. Each child sat on his or her parent’s lap in front of a monitor with an eye-tracking device. Two images appeared on the screen: one image of a familiar item (like a ball or a book) and one made-up image with a made-up name (like a “dax” or a “gorp”). A recorded voice talked about the objects with simple sentences. When the voice stumbled and said “Look at the, uh…” the child instinctively looked at the made-up image much more often than the familiar image (almost 70 percent of the time).

“We’re not advocating that parents add disfluencies to their speech, but I think it’s nice for them to know that using these verbal pauses is OK – the “uh’s” and “um’s” are informative,” said Kidd, the study’s lead author.

In the study, the effect was only significant in children older than two years. The younger children, the researchers reasoned, had not yet learned the fact that disfluencies tend to precede novel or unknown words.

When kids are between the ages of two and three, they usually are at a developmental stage where they can construct rudimentary sentences of about two to four words in length. And they typically have a vocabulary of a few hundred words.

The study builds on earlier research by Jennifer Arnold, a scientist at the University of North Carolina and a former postdoctoral fellow at Rochester, which found that adults also can use “um’s” and “uh’s” to their advantage in understanding language. Additionally, work by Anne Fernald at Stanford University has shown that it’s not the quality but the quantity of speech that a child is exposed to that is most important for learning.

(Article compliments of Alan Blank, University Communications)