MRI: Acquisition of a shared mobile EEG for research and undergraduate training at Occidental College

科学家们越来越多地使用神经记录技术来研究随着时间的推移，感知、认知和情绪过程如何以及何时在大脑中展开。脑电(EEG)是一种非侵入性的测量大脑电活动的技术，具有非凡的时间精度。在主要研究仪器项目的支持下，研究人员将购买最先进的高密度移动脑电系统，供西方学院的教职员工和学生共享使用。脑电系统的机动性提供了一个令人兴奋的机会，可以在实验室内和实验室外的自然环境中研究感知和认知。这一系统的获得还将使研究人员能够为本科水平的不同学生群体培养独特的研究机会。教师和学生将参与一个动态的、跨学科的研究计划，调查的主题包括多感官感知、时间感知、艺术感知、注意力、情感处理、语言处理和音乐认知。该系统还将作为在西方学院建立认知神经科学本科培训的关键工具，并将整合到课程中。参与课程的学生将发展与研究生学习和参与STEM工作相关的广泛技能，包括强大的数据分析和计算技能。由于西方学院的学生群体非常多样化，调查人员的目标是扩大未被充分代表的群体在科学领域的参与。参与调查的人员将在认知科学的广泛领域启动几个研究项目，目标是扩大学生研究和学院内多学科合作的机会。研究项目1旨在了解声音如何被用来同步一对个体的神经活动，以及神经同步是否以及如何因果地影响行为协调。研究项目2将调查艺术知觉，以了解a)当前情绪等内部状态如何系统地将注意力吸引到艺术品的特定特征上，b)与观看非艺术相比，观看艺术的深刻审美体验与哪种类型的神经反应相关，以及c)与审美体验相关的神经反应在艺术形态(如视觉艺术、音乐、文学)中的相似程度。研究项目3将探索时间感知的潜在机制以及信息如何在感觉模式之间传输，以解决有关大脑多感觉组织的基本问题，并将有助于更好地理解大脑如何代表时间。研究项目4将比较英语和西班牙语使用者的语言处理和音节重音编码的时间进程，以考察说传统西班牙语的人和只说西班牙语的人之间的处理差异。研究项目5旨在通过同时测量皮肤电导反应、皮质事件相关电位以及在后向掩蔽范式中对无条件刺激的有意识预期来了解意识在情绪加工中的作用。

Scientists are increasingly using neural recording techniques to study how and when perceptual, cognitive, and emotional processes unfold in the brain over time. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive technique for measuring electrical activity of the brain, with extraordinary temporal precision. With the support from the Major Research Instrumentation Program, the investigators will purchase a state-of-the-art high-density, mobile EEG system for shared use by the faculty and students at Occidental College. The mobility of the EEG system provides an exciting opportunity to investigate perception and cognition both within a laboratory and in naturalistic settings outside of the laboratory. The acquisition of this system will also allow the investigators to foster unique research opportunities for a diverse group of students at the undergraduate level. Faculty and students will be involved in a dynamic, interdisciplinary research program, with investigations of topics such as multisensory perception, time perception, art perception, attention, emotional processing, language processing, and music cognition. The system will also serve as a key instrument for establishing undergraduate training in the cognitive neurosciences at Occidental College and will be integrated into coursework. Participating students will develop a broad range of skills relevant for both graduate study and participation in the STEM workforce, including strong data analytic and computational skills. As the student population at Occidental College is very diverse, the investigators aim to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences.The investigators involved will launch several research programs in a broad range of areas within the cognitive sciences, with the goal of expanding opportunities for student research and for multi-disciplinary collaboration across the College. Research project 1 aims to understand how sound can be used to synchronize neural activity across a pair of individuals and whether and how neural synchronization causally influences behavioral coordination. Research project 2 will investigate art perception to understand a) how internal states such as current mood may systematically drive attention toward specific features of an artwork, b) what type of neural response is associated with profound aesthetic experiences from viewing art compared to viewing non-art, and c) the extent to which the neural response associated with aesthetic experience is similar across art modality (e.g. visual art, music, literature). Research project 3 will explore mechanisms underlying temporal perception and how information is transferred across sensory modalities, to address fundamental questions about the multisensory organization of the brain, and will help provide a better understanding of how the brain represents time. Research project 4 will compare the time course of language processing and syllabic stress encoding in English and Spanish speakers to examine processing differences between heritage speakers and monolingual speakers of Spanish. Research project 5 aims to understand the role of consciousness in emotional processing by simultaneously measuring skin conductance response, cortical event-related potentials, and conscious expectancy of an unconditioned stimulus in a backward masking paradigm.