Projects in Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience Supervised by Lok-Kin Yeung
Professor Yeung will supervise one-semester research projects in cognitive neuroscience in either the fall or the spring semester. Depending on students’ interest and preparation, these research projects will involve either 1) conducting data analysis on publicly available datasets (e.g. the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development, etc.) and writing an empirical paper, or 2) a literature review and research proposal.
Empirical projects may focus on how human brain structures (in the frontal and temporal lobes) contribute to cognitive functions such as memory, perception, language, attention or executive function, or behavioral symptoms related to neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental disorders. For example, how is the anatomy of the hippocampus related to the quality of memory recall? How might variations in temporal lobe anatomy (potentially using machine learning) be related to risk factors for dementia or behavioral differences? Other project topics might include understanding the relationship between biological markers of neurodegeneration and performance on neuropsychological assessments. For example, do plasma neurodegenerative markers affect visuospatial performance at non-clinical levels? Studies may involve processing and analysis of neuroimaging data. A literature review and research proposal-based project can cover the topics listed above, but can also look more broadly at theoretical models of memory or perceptual processing supported by the medial temporal lobes.