NACS members investigating these basic human cognitive processes are primarily found in the Psychology Department, distributed across several labs and areas. This research typically involves the collection of reaction time and accuracy measurements during memory or reasoning tasks. Many members of this group employ sophisticated mathematical techniques not only to analyze data but also to formally instantiate theory and to direct future experimentation.

Anderson, Michael, Computer Science

Clark, Pamela I., Public & Community Health

I am a tobacco control scientist, doing abuse liability assessment of various alternative tobacco/nicotine products (hookah, snus, high smoke pH cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, electronic cigarettes). My team uses machine-smoking to generate and analyze the smoke chemistry and particle distribution, and compare it with human testing. Our main tools for the work with humans is EEG and evoked potentials.

Cohen, Leonardo G., Chief, Human Cortical Physiology Section and Stroke Neurorehabilitation Clinic,

The goal of our activity is to understand the mechanisms underlying plastic changes in the human central nervous system and to develop novel therapeutic approaches for recovery of function based on these advances. We utilize transcranial magnetic (TMS)and DC (tDCS) stimulation, fMRI, TMS in combination with fMRI, MR spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), PET scanning and magnetoencephalography (MEG) alone or in combination with brain computer interfaces (BCI). We investigate mechanisms of human plasticity in healthy volunteers and the impact in treatment of patients with stroke.

Dougherty, Michael, Psychology

My research is focused on understanding the cognitive, motivational, and affective components of hypothesis generation and human judgment. The primary thesis underlying my research is that hypothesis generation processes serve as the lynchpin for understanding and interpreting information in the natural environment, for evaluating the probability of various hypotheses, and for searching for information in the environment to test hypotheses. Addressing this thesis requires an integration of work from long-term memory, working memory, visual attention, and judgment and decision making.

Israel, Michael, English

Linguistics

Jaeggi, Susanne M., Psychology

I investigate working memory and executive control in various contexts and across the lifespan with behavioral and neuroimaging methods. One of my research goals addresses working memory limitations. I aim to understand the behavioral as well as the neural consequences when performance is at capacity limits, and also, when capacity limits are exceeded. Further, I investigate whether and how working memory capacity can be improved and whether such improvements have generalizing effects to other cognitive domains. In these intervention studies, my goal is to determine the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie training-related changes.

Jiang, Nan, Linguistics

Nan Jiang studies adult second language acquisition and bilingual language processing from a cognitive perspective. His ongoing research projects concern topics such as bilingual lexical organization, language transfer, the automatization of linguistic knowledge, semantic development in second language acquisition.

Linck, Jared,

My research program focuses on the role of domain-general cognitive control mechanisms in bilingual language processing and second language (L2) acquisition. I am interested in individual differences in L2 acquisition and L2 processing, and how these may be impacted by various factors including a learner's cognitive abilities (e.g., executive functions, implicit learning) and the context of learning (e.g., immersion learning vs. classroom learning). Much of my language processing research has focused on lexical access during comprehension and speech production in L2 learners, with a particular emphasis on the impact of various executive functions (e.g., inhibitory control, working memory capacity). In my work, I hope to expand our understanding of the interface between cognition and multilingual language processes.

McDonald, Craig, Assistant Professor, George Mason University ,

One line of research involves the study of the effects of adolescent nicotine exposure on neurocognitive functioning. I am specifically interested in evaluating whether executive control is compromised in individuals who smoke. I am also interested in understanding the neural processes linked to perceptual decision-making. Specifically, I am investigating how attentional processes enable appropriate behavioral control when perceptual discrimination is difficult. My research takes advantage of electroencephalographic (EEG) recording techniques to characterize the neural underpinnings of neurocognitive function and visual perception.

Miller, Ross, Kinesiology

Dr. Miller studies the biomechanics and motor control of human locomotion using principles from optimal control theory and a combination of theoretical modeling (forward and inverse dynamics) and in vivo experiments (motion capture, force measurement, electromyography, calorimetry). He is interested in optimality criteria for "normal" human walking (i.e. why humans walk the way we) and how neuromuscular control affects joint loading and injury potential.

Norman, Kent, Psychology

His interests are in cognitive psychology, judgment and decision making, and cyberpsychology. Cyberpsychology includes the study of psychological issues at the intersection of human behavior and computer technologies including the Internet, social computing, human-computing, and mobile computing. Current research involves the cognitive aspects human/computer interaction, interface design, usability testing, online surveys and experiments, menu navigation, and the assessment of user satisfaction to frustration and computer rage. In addition, Dr. Norman is interested in the design of electronic educational environments for collaborative learning and the construction of knowledge.

Novick, Jared ,

My research seeks to understand the human computational system that supports the real-time interpretation and reinterpretation of sentences. In particular, central to revising initial processing commitments is 'cognitive control.' Cognitive control refers to the regulation of mental activity to guide and support flexible behavior, enabling individuals to bias the selection of appropriate over inappropriate information during goal-directed tasks. Data from behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological studies suggest shared mechanisms in prefrontal cortex (PFC) that support regulatory functions across a range of tasks, including working memory, attention, and language processing. Using a multiple-method approach, my research asks whether a cardinal function of PFC-supported cognitive control is to override early misinterpretations during sentence processing to prevent comprehension failure.

Perlis, Donald, Computer Science

I am a member of the Artificial Intelligence Group at the University of Maryland. I study various aspects of commonsense reasoning, including the related areas of cognitive modeling and philosophy of mind and language. An ongoing project of my research team (Active Logic, Metacognitive Computation, and Mind) is the use of time-situated metacognitive computation for enhanced flexibility and generality of reasoning.

Riggins, Tracy, Psychology

Research in Dr. Riggins's lab investigates the development of cognitive abilities, such as memory, in infants and young children. She is especially interested in how the development of the brain contributes to changes in cognition early in life. These questions are addressed using multiple methodological tools including behavioral and neuroimaging techniques (event-related potentials, ERPs and magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) in both typically developing children and children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The overall goal of research in Dr. Riggins's lab is to develop a better understanding of how early experiences influence the development of brain-behavior relations and result in individual differences in cognitive performance.

Roesch, Matthew R., Psychology

My laboratory studies the neural mechanisms of cognition and their disturbance in disorders such as addiction and schizophrenia. We are interested in the neural underpinnings of reward, learning, motivation, conflict, attention and decision-making. For example, we are currently investigating how the brain guides decisions based on expected outcomes and violations in those expectations. We address these issues with a variety of approaches in behaving rats, including neurophysiology, pharmacology, lesions and drug self-administration.

Shackman, Alexander ,

Dispositionally anxious individuals-those who tend to express anxiety too intensely or in response to inappropriate cues-are vulnerable to developing anxiety and other psychiatric disorders. These disorders are common, debilitating, and often treatment resistant, underscoring the need to understand the mechanisms linking dispositional anxiety to psychopathology. To this end, our laboratory uses brain imaging, electrophysiological techniques, peripheral physiological measures, and behavioral assays in adults and children to address three broad questions: 1) What is the nature of the large-scale neural circuit underlying variation in anxiety? 2) How does anxiety influence attention, memory & cognitive control? 3) What mechanisms underlie the inhibited behavioral profile characteristic of anxious individuals? Our goal is to understand how variation in anxiety contributes to psychopathology, discover novel endophenotypes, and set the stage for developing improved interventions.

Smith, J Carson, Kinesiology

Dr. Smith is focused on understanding how exercise and physical activity affect human brain function and exert effects on cognitive function and mental health. Dr. Smith investigates the effects of exercise on brain function, as measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), in people at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Smith, his team of investigators, and collaborators are interested in the potential efficacy for exercise to affect brain function and memory in healthy older adults at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease, as well as in patients diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The ultimate goal is to provide evidence for exercise to delay conversion to Alzheimer's disease and protect against age-related cognitive decline. In addition, Dr. Smith's examines how acute and chronic exercise or physical activity may alter emotional reactivity, attention allocation, and cognitive function among patients with anxiety and/or depressive mood disorders.

Wallsten, Thomas, Psychology

As a cognitive psychologist with a penchant for formal models and a primary research interest in behavioral decision theory, I seek to develop useful, well-grounded cognitive theory and methods of data analysis regarding judgment and choice processes.

Zaghloul, Kareem, National Institutes of Health

Research in our lab focuses on understanding the neural correlates of human cognitive function using intracranial recordings captured during epilepsy surgery and deep brain stimulation surgery. In both cases, our lab seeks to record single unit spike activity and local field potential activity directly from the human brain of neurosurgical patients as these patients participate in different cognitive tasks, and to use computational techniques to establish how these signals correlate with different human behaviors. The larger goal of this work centers around understanding the neural code mediating such cognitive processes as memory, decision, and attention. By exploring these questions, we hope to not only gain an understanding of how the human brain processes and relays information, but to potentially open up new possibilities to directly communicate with the brain's complex networks.