University of Louisville
Psychophysiology Internship with the Sydney Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Research and Teaching Unit
Institution
University of Louisville
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Andrew Grubb
Abstract
This poster focuses on my experiences with the Sydney Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Research and Teaching Unit at the University of Sydney in Australia. The SCAN Unit is a psychophysiology laboratory with members researching topics including heart rate variability (HRV), event-related brain potentials, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, and perception. While working with the SCAN Unit, I completed literature reviews on specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the brain and body to analyze their relationship with mood disorders and affect. In regards to experiments, I was involved in a design measuring how bimodal and unimodal stimuli of light and/or sound, with varying amounts of time lapsing between, may affect the perception of a participant. Additionally, I was involved experimentation focused on HRV and whether unmedicated patients with major depression disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder, suffer from reduced HRV independent of medication. While these experiments are ongoing, the data express support for the hypotheses. In particular, the heart rate variability experiments could potentially lead to important discoveries that further tie the psychology field to the medical field and clinical aspects. Current studies are indicative of helping change how we measure the risk for myocardial infarction and heart disease.
Psychophysiology Internship with the Sydney Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Research and Teaching Unit
This poster focuses on my experiences with the Sydney Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Research and Teaching Unit at the University of Sydney in Australia. The SCAN Unit is a psychophysiology laboratory with members researching topics including heart rate variability (HRV), event-related brain potentials, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, and perception. While working with the SCAN Unit, I completed literature reviews on specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the brain and body to analyze their relationship with mood disorders and affect. In regards to experiments, I was involved in a design measuring how bimodal and unimodal stimuli of light and/or sound, with varying amounts of time lapsing between, may affect the perception of a participant. Additionally, I was involved experimentation focused on HRV and whether unmedicated patients with major depression disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder, suffer from reduced HRV independent of medication. While these experiments are ongoing, the data express support for the hypotheses. In particular, the heart rate variability experiments could potentially lead to important discoveries that further tie the psychology field to the medical field and clinical aspects. Current studies are indicative of helping change how we measure the risk for myocardial infarction and heart disease.