Dr. Chrastil, in collaboration with Jeff Krichmar (UCI, Department of Cognitive Sciences) and Doug Nitz (UCSD, Department of Cognitive Sciences), has been awarded a $1.5 million RO1 grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) for their proposed study, “Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience: There and back again – Linking global maps to first-person perspectives.”

This study specifically focuses on the cognitive function that enables humans to link first-person perspectives with a global map. This ability to seamlessly transition between both perspectives is crucial for navigation and flexible perspective-taking.

Congratulations to Dr. Chrastil, Krichmar, and Nitz!

Ph.D. candidate Theo Kapogianis completed his Advancement Defense on 09/11/2023, proposing his dissertation “Cognitive Graphs: it’s all connected man. Impact of structure, decision-making, and domain on graph learning”! He proposed three experiments which will investigate 1) structure: components of graphs (informational networks), such as size, edge-to-node ratio, internal complexity and organization. 2) decision-making: the role of decision-making in learning and the brain structures which support learning through decision-making. 3) domain: how learning strategies change over time across different task pressures (repetitive or random) and domains (spatial or abstract).

We look forward to hearing about Theo’s findings across his three experiments. Great job Theo!

This summer, Dr. Chrastil and our lab mentored two research assistants, Alayah Solomon and Marie Karpinska, who participated in our lab’s spatial neuroscience research and investigated their own research questions. Alayah, a rising sophomore at North Carolina A&T State University, was part of the Summer Institute Neuroscience program at UC Irvine, where she focused on white matter shape analysis and its impact on hormones in midlife adults. The program culminated in a symposium featuring a keynote lecture, short presentations by summer scholars, and a poster session. In addition to conducting research in laboratories, the students participated in cohort-wide activities including workshops on neuroscience methods, professional development opportunities, seminars by faculty, and socials.

Alayah’s poster on the Relationship Between FSH Hormone Levels and White Matter Tract Length

Marie Karpinska, a computer science and psychology student at UCSB, was part of the University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees (UC LEADS) program. The program is designed to engage and educate California’s future leaders by preparing promising students for advanced education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Marie presented on Spatial Working Memory Capacity on Path integration, specifically examining one’s spatial working memory score on loop closure performance.

Marie presents on Spatial Working Memory Capacity on Path Integration

Their motivation and contributions to the lab were invaluable, and we are grateful for their hard work over the summer. We look forward to seeing their continued success. Congratulations, Alayah and Marie!

Two of our graduate students, Theo and Erica, recently attended Neurohackademy, a two-week program that provides training in neuroimaging and data science. The program featured a full schedule of lectures and hands-on activities designed to teach researchers the latest techniques and methods for analyzing neuroimaging data.

One of the topics that Erica found particularly interesting was “Measuring and Analyzing Human Functional Brain Networks,” which covered methods for conducting functional connectivity analysis with real data. This is something that Erica plans to do with the MLINDIV data. Another topic that caught her attention was “Machine Learning Methods for Neuroimaging,” which covered how to create and analyze models using real brain data to predict certain outcome measures and then validate the effectiveness of those models.

During the second week of the program, Theo and Erica worked on a team project where they investigated the relationship between metabolic output and brain activity using connectivity measures. Specifically, Erica completed a dynamic community detection analysis and found that the flexibility of the nodes in the default mode network were negatively correlated with FDG-PET values. Overall, Erica and Theo had a great time at Neurohackademy and would recommend it to any student who is interested in learning computational methods for analyzing neuroimaging data. We are proud of Theo and Erica for their participation in Neurohackademy and look forward to seeing how they apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills in their research!

Congratulations to Alina on her recent acceptance as an incoming Ph.D. student at UC Irvine’s Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP)! The INP provides a manner for meeting the diversity and challenges of graduate training in such a broad and influential discipline. Faculty from several departments and schools, whose research in neuroscience is guided by many disciplines, participate in the INP. During her first year, Alina will have the opportunity to rotate through labs within the Neurobiology and Behavior department, allowing her to gain a broad range of experiences and knowledge. Alina aims to continue her research examining the relationship between hippocampal subfield volumes and individual differences in spatial navigation. This is an exciting and important area of research, and we wish Alina all the best as she embarks on this new chapter in her academic journey. Congratulations again, Alina! We are proud of your achievements and look forward to seeing your continued success.

We are delighted to welcome Taylor Le and Nick Krohn as they officially continue in our Spatial Neuroscience Lab as lab managers! Both Taylor and Nick have demonstrated their interest, motivation, and commitment in our lab as previous lead research assistants. They have conducted and led independent research projects, presented at symposia and conferences, and trained and mentored other research assistants. We are very excited for them to be more involved in our lab and to see the work they produce. Here’s a quick word from them both!

Taylor (he/him/his): Hi everyone! I’ve been a research assistant for 2 years, and have primarily worked on our study in Individual Differences in Navigational Ability, and a newer independent project that examines the relationship between reinforcement learning in wayfinding ability in active and passive exploration. I aim to continue working on both projects, while also further developing leadership and mentorship skills as I work with other core lab members and research assistants. I’m very excited to continue in our lab as a lab manager, and would like to thank Dr. Chrastil for giving me this opportunity.

Nick (he/him/his): Excited to be continuing in the spatial neuroscience lab as a lab manager and working with all of you! I have been an RA in the lab since winter of 2021. In my time in the lab I have worked primarily on segmentation of the medial temporal lobe and examining differences in path integration ability and how they relate to differences in the integrity of white matter structures in the brain. I have also worked on IndivRobotics data collection since last summer. Going forward I hope to encourage research development for undergraduates and high school students and continue neuroimaging analysis in brain region volume and white matter structure.

Congratulations to both Taylor and Nick on their new roles as lab managers! We are confident that they will continue to make valuable contributions to our lab.

Congratulations to Tiffany R. and Marjan R. for passing their second year exams! Tiffany and Marjan are both rising third year graduate students in the UCI Department of Cognitive Sciences – School of Social Sciences.

Tiffany is currently investigating the effects of previous graph experience on learning, specifically examining whether a graph or labeled graph improves spatial transfer learning. Marjan is examining the effects of stress and anxiety, and how that impacts one’s spatial navigation ability. We’re excited to see what their finding are, and wish them the best of luck as they continue their Ph.D. programs!

We are excited to share that Dr. Liz Chrastil has been awarded the 2023 Early Career Award (ECA) presented by the Psychonomic Society!

This ECA award recognizes her rigorous and impactful scholarship, service to the cognitive psychology field, involvement in the Psychonomic Society, and contributions to outreach, diversity, equity, inclusion, and mentorship. Liz will be formally recognized at the Annual Meeting this November, and her name will be displayed permanently on the Society’s website. Congratulations, Liz, on this well-deserved recognition!