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，知觉、认知和情感过程如何以及何时在大脑中展开。脑电图（EEG）是一种用于测量大脑电活动的非侵入性技术，具有非凡的时间精度。在主要研究仪器计划的支持下，研究人员将购买一个最先进的高密度移动的EEG系统，供西方学院的教师和学生共享使用。EEG系统的移动性提供了一个令人兴奋的机会来研究实验室内和实验室外的自然环境中的感知和认知。这一系统的收购也将使研究人员在本科层次的学生群体培养独特的研究机会。教师和学生将参与一个充满活力的跨学科研究计划，对多感官知觉，时间知觉，艺术知觉，注意力，情感处理，语言处理和音乐认知等主题进行调查。该系统也将作为一个关键的工具，在西方学院建立认知神经科学的本科培训，并将纳入课程。参与的学生将发展与研究生学习和参与STEM劳动力相关的广泛技能，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，研究人员的目标是扩大科学领域中代表性不足的群体的参与。参与的研究人员将在认知科学的广泛领域开展多项研究计划，目的是扩大学生研究和跨学院多学科合作的机会。研究项目1旨在了解声音如何用于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。研究计划2将探讨艺术感知，以了解a）内部状态（如当前情绪）如何系统地将注意力引向艺术品的特定特征，B）与观看艺术品相比，观看艺术品与观看非艺术品的深刻审美体验相关的神经反应类型，以及c）与审美体验相关的神经反应在艺术形态中的相似程度（例如视觉艺术、音乐、文学）。研究项目3将探索时间感知的潜在机制以及信息如何通过感觉方式传递，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表示时间。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过程，以研究西班牙语传统使用者和单语使用者之间的处理差异。研究项目5旨在了解意识在情绪处理中的作用，通过同时测量皮肤电导反应，皮层事件相关电位，以及在后向掩蔽范式中对无条件刺激的有意识预期。

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.