MRI: Acquisition of an ActiveTwo EEG/ERP Acquisition System

在重大研究仪器公司的支持下，Stephanie L.Simon-Dack博士和她的合作者将购买Biosemi脑电/事件相关电位(EEG/ERP)Active Two采集系统，供鲍尔州立大学心理科学系和咨询与指导服务系联合使用。使用EEG/ERP技术是研究如何以及何时招募注意力和特定认知资源来执行导致人类行为的功能性认知行为的理想方法。通过在头皮上放置电极，该设备将允许非侵入性地记录与大脑认知和情绪过程的时间和位置相关的脑电活动。参与的研究人员将在四个拟议的研究项目中合作使用这些设备，他们都是心理学不同和动态领域的专家，因此这些设备将允许对思维和行为进行整体研究。研究项目1将考察多种感觉输入(例如，触觉和听觉，或触觉和视觉)对注意力资源招募的影响。这将为未来涉及向个人呈现感觉信息的情况提供信息，当多个输入可能有助于或不利于做出方便的反应时(例如，战斗机飞行员的仪器警报；有学习缺陷的个人的教育技术)。研究项目2将检查在理解不确定性术语(单词可以有多种解释，如单词“可能”)时涉及的神经生理过程，并将有助于我们对情景语言的使用的理解。研究项目3将调查暴露在与先前持有的态度和信念一致或不一致的信息中的个人的神经阶段和决策时间。这个项目将让我们深入了解一个人的先前信念是如何影响决策过程的。研究项目4将让研究人员研究良好的职业决策所涉及的大脑过程和心理因素之间的关系。美国的高失业率突显了做出合理的职业决策的重要性，该项目旨在更好地了解这一过程背后的心理生理学关联。拟议中的项目将促进鲍尔州立大学跨多个系的神经生理学研究和培训的发展。学生(包括本科生和研究生)将参与研究项目，并有机会使用脑电记录设备开发自己的研究项目。通过与负责多样性的副教务长协调努力，PI将与机构多样性办公室合作，从代表不足的群体中积极招聘学生研究人员，包括妇女、少数族裔和低收入的第一代大学生，这一努力与PI所在机构对多样性的强调是一致的。参与这些项目的学生将为在竞争日益激烈和以生理学为重点的领域获得高等教育机会做好准备。院系和机构对这种设备的使用将使教职员工和学生在心理学领域保持竞争力，因为对思维和行为的神经生理学相关性的重视继续增长。

With Major Research Instrumentation support, Dr. Stephanie L. Simon-Dack and her collaborators will purchase a Biosemi Electroencephalography/Event-Related Potentials (EEG/ERP) Active Two Acquisition System for the joint use of the Department of Psychological Science and the Department of Counseling and Guidance Services at Ball State University. The use of EEG/ERP technology is ideal for studying how and when attention and specific cognitive resources are recruited to perform functional acts of cognition that lead to human behavior. Through the placement of electrodes on the scalp, the equipment will allow for the non-invasive recording of electrical brain activity related to the timing and location of cognitive and emotional processes of the brain. The participating researchers who will use the equipment collaboratively on four proposed research projects are all specialists in different and dynamic areas of psychology, and thus the equipment will allow for holistic study of thought and behavior. Research project 1 will examine the effects of multiple sensory inputs (e.g., such as touch and hearing, or touch and sight) on the recruitment of attentional resources. This will inform future situations involving the presentation of sensory information to individuals when multiple inputs may be helpful or harmful to responding expediently (e.g., instrumentation alerts for fighter pilots; educational techniques for individuals with learning deficits).Research project 2 will examine the neurophysiological processes involved in the comprehension of uncertainty terms (words that can have a wide range of interpretation, such as the word "probably") and will contribute to our understanding of situated language use.Research project 3 will investigate the neural stages and timing of decision-making in individuals exposed to information that is consistent or inconsistent with previously held attitudes and beliefs. This project will allow for insight into how a person's prior beliefs can influence the decision making process.Research project 4 will allow the investigators to examine the relationship between brain processes and psychological factors involved in good career decision-making. The high unemployment rate in the United States underscores the importance of making sound career decisions and this project aims for a greater understanding of the psychophysiological correlates underlying this process.The proposed projects will facilitate development of neurophysiological research and training at Ball State University across multiple departments. Students (both undergraduate and graduate) will be involved in the research programs and have the opportunity to develop their own research projects using the EEG recording equipment. By coordinating efforts with the Associate Provost for Diversity, the PIs will work with the Office of Institutional Diversity to actively recruit student researchers from underrepresented groups including women, minorities, and low-income first generation college students, an endeavor that is consistent with the emphasis on diversity at the PI's home institution. Students who participate in these projects will be prepared for higher education opportunities in an increasingly competitive and physiology-focused field. Departmental and institutional access to this equipment will allow faculty and students to remain competitive in the field of psychology as emphasis on the neurophysiological correlates of thought and behavior continues to grow.