For the last seven years the research of my students in our 'Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory' of the Department of Psychology has been dedicated to the investigation of the activity of the human brain on those trials in which our subjects respond to the task stimuli correctly or successfully as opposed to the brain activity on those trials in which our subjects respond incorrectly or successfully. We are using the data from the electroencephalogram (EEG) as the measure of human brain activity and the EEG's location within the skull. Our cognitive tasks have been perceptual/memory (Number stimuli were presented for 70 msec and were required to be remembered for 2 sec and then selected from a 5 member test array.), mathematical (Multiplication problems scaled in 3 levels of difficulty were solved as quickly as possible.), and spatial relationship (Black and white sample diagrams were judged the same or the opposite to a standard diagram.). Word/language stimuli will be the subject of future experiments.
We have found (and published) that there is a frontal cortex increase in negativity (indicating excitatory brain activity) in the 3 to 4 sec before the presentation of the tasks on trials on which the subject responds correctly as opposed to a frontal weak-negative or positive brain activity on trials on which the subject responds incorrectly. Simultaneous with these general arousal increases, other brain areas, specific to the specific tasks, also generate negative EEG activity (indicating excitatory synaptic activity). The specific areas are left, anterior frontal for the perceptual/memory task; middle, left frontal for the mathematical task; and posterior, right parietal for the spatial relationship task. The experimental technique of the above studies were to average the results of all of our subjects without respect to their diversity of gender, age, ethnicity, disability, handedness, etc. I devised these experimental procedures in order to test the theories that exist to explain brain function during behavior. Their results have lead to new interpretations of those theories.
Even though these are preliminary findings and need to be substantiated by further research, we believe that we have sufficient data to begin the process of applying this basic research to ameliorating the human condition. But first we need to explicitly collect data that concentrates on the individual response strategies of the diversity of our subjects and, therefore, the brain activity of each individual that is specific to each type of cognitive task.
These data have lead us to devise a treatment regime for cognitive- impaired students that we believe has a high probability of success. The outline of the technique is as follows:
a. Based on the data generated by the work supported by this request, we will be able to estimate the EEG configuration that is present in specific brain areas of successful problem solvers of diverse backgrounds for specific cognitive tasks, i.e. multiplication problems, perceptual problems which may be the core difficulty of certain language disorders, etc. This data will highlight the response/brain strengths of each of our subjects so that the next phase can utilize these core differences to better help each subject.
b. Using Biofeedback techniques (in which I have 32 years experience) we will teach cognitive-disabled students to create the 'EEG pattern of success' in the appropriate area of their brain based on their diversity group. I expect this process to take 15 to 20 weeks. Note: The EEG itself causes neither learning nor performance since it is the recording of the electrical side effects produced by excitatory and inhibitory synaptic activity of the brain. The training of a subject to produce a specific brain wave pattern in a specific area of their own brain forces them to recreate the underlying excitatory and inhibitory synaptic patterns in their own neurons, theoretically adjusting the proximate cause of the performance difficulty.
c. During laboratory biofeedback sessions explicit procedures will be instituted to insure that the subject transfers his/her newly learned skills from the laboratory setting including the Biofeedback instruments to their everyday environment. This will insure a change to successful performance for each subject.
So we request funds for student assistant salary, student travel funds and some supplies and small equipment items to support my students in a larger study emphasizing independent variables of our diverse subject pool such as gender, age, ethnicity, disability, handedness, etc. Each subject is tested for 2 hours at a seating so there are many student-experimenter hours spent with each subject.
Of course, we have already collected this information on all of the subjects that we have previously studied and so they will form the initial core of data for these follow-up studies but their numbers are far too small for either statistical or psychological significance determination.
Students currently working in our laboratory: Undergraduates dealing with subjects and collecting data:
Laurie Jaffee
Kristen Mathews -- Team Leader
Kristen Brown
Maria Levy
Brady Baker
Kristen Chinn
Abbie Cohen
Thomas Jurdak
John Lenahan -- Team Leader
Paula Reynolds
Karen Wilson -- Team Leader
John Lagomarsino -- Data Analysis
Graduate Students fulfilling their research experience requirement :
Kevin Cheli-Colando
Kathleen Maloney
Student Centered Campus - This is student oriented research and has been and is maintained by students-researchers. Previous year's students train and recruit the present year's students. The priority of the effort is the growth of the students in training their research skills and in increasing their personal confidence to carry on an intricate, high level professional activity. I insure that their names are on all publications and posters at conventions and attempt to secure travel to those conventions for them.
Education for Social Responsibility - The students in our lab are committed to developing data that will substantiate and transfer to practical, effective treatment to specifically affected students (see Biofeedback training).
Diversity - The proposed research is directly oriented to the specific communalities and differences among our student- subjects. We are explicitly looking for those details of culture, age, gender, genetically and/or environmentally caused disability, handedness, etc. that at first impede performance and then allow for specific training that will facilitate remedial work. 6)
Our present facilities of the Cognitive Psychophysiology
Laboratory of the Department of Psychology will be booked all
day, seven days a week. My time will be stressed to the limits.
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Copyright © 1995, Dr. John M. Morgan, All rights reserved -
This page last edited October 23, 1996
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