Cognition
Miguel Alonso-Alonso
Department: Berenson-Allen Center
Research: We are looking for a research student to work on independent projects related to the neurocognitive basis of eating behavior and obesity in humans. We are located at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the Longwood Medical Area. Our research is supported by a collaboration of 3 centers in the hospital: the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine, the Weight Loss Surgery Center- Minimally Invasive Surgery Services, and the Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation.
The position requires a highly motivated, detail-oriented individual with strong inter-personal skills, solid in writing and data analysis, and with a desire to learn state-of-the-art neuroscience methodologies used in our studies. These include: computer-based cognitive assessments, eye-tracking, neuroimaging, and noninvasive brain stimulation. Research students will be asked to develop an independent project with the guidance and mentorship of our research team. Projects can be used to fulfill requirements for undergraduate research credits and/or to develop a senior thesis. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to be involved in larger longitudinal studies with a clinical focus.
Qualifications: undergraduate work toward a degree in neuroscience, psychology, biology, or related degree; 6 month commitment of 10-15 hours/week; scientific writing skills; experience with Excel and SPSS. Ideal students will have an interest in nutrition and obesity.
This position is best suited for those who plan to apply to Ph.D. programs or medical school, especially those interested in careers in clinical research. Please e-mail cover letter and resume to Miguel Alonso-Alonso at malonso@bidmc.harvard.edu and Greta Magerowski at gmagerow@bidmc.harvard.edu
Helen Barbas
Department: Health Sciences
Website: http://www.bu.edu/sargent/features/professor-helen-barbas/
Research: Research centers on the organization of the prefrontal cortex and its role in central executive functions in primates. The goal is to investigate prefrontal pathways that interface with both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in cortical and subcortical structures that may provide the basis for the selection of relevant information and suppression of irrelevant information in behavior. Experimental approaches include the use of neural tracers to label pathways, combined with histochemical, immunocytochemical and molecular procedures to characterize the postsynaptic site of prefrontal pathways. Using quantitative approaches and imaging to reconstruct in 3D neural circuits at the level of systems and at the synaptic level, and employ multidimensional analyses to reveal patterns and principles of connections.
Working in the lab: Research techniques learned include: neuroanatomy
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Swathi Kiran
Department: Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Website: http://www.bu.edu/sargent/academics/faculty/slhs-programs/swathi-kiran/
Research: The primary goal of our research is to further our understanding of the effects of brain damage on communication. In particular, we are interested in language processing and language recovery mechanisms in normal individuals and patients with brain damage. We combine online reaction time experiments and offline paper/pencil tasks to investigate various aspects of lexical semantic processing (words and their meanings) in normal individuals and individuals with aphasia.A major focus of our research is to develop treatment methods to alleviate language deficits. Through theoretically motivated treatment experiments, we hope to demonstrate that following brain damage, language recovery can take place in a predictable manner, and can be far more efficient than through traditional didactic approaches.
Working in the Lab: Research techniques learned include: behavior & psychophysics; neuroimaging
Nancy Kopell
Department: Mathematics
Website: http://cbd.bu.edu/members/nkopell.html
Research: Research interests include in the dynamics of the nervous system associated with cognition. This includes a study of how the brain produces the various rhythms associated with different cognitive states, how those frequency bands interact in different tasks and modulatory environments, and what goes wrong with the rhythms in neurological disorders.
Working in the lab: Research techniques learned include: computational modeling
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Jacqueline Liederman
Department: Psychology
Research: Interests include (1) The use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to make inferences about whether a particular region of cortex is necessary for a specific function. I have several projects planned that have to do with visual attention and reading. This work takes place at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (2) Examination of the mechanisms underlying reading with adults with reading disability (in cooperation with the Learning Disabilities Center at B.U.) as well as with neurologically intact individuals; 3) The effect of exposure to xenoestrogens during the prenatal period; how it affects brain development in general and the development of sexually dimorphic behaviors, in particular. One population that I am working with are Faroese Islanders that eat whale blubber during pregancy, thereby exposing their offspring to very high levels of PCBs.; (4) examination of factors underlying male vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorder which may derive from events during the prenatal period.
Working in the lab: Research techniques learned include: behavior & psychophysics