Psychology

Students in PSYC 0202 (Research Methods) will be presenting the research proposals they have been working on all semester in a poster session in the Great Hall. In addition, students in PSYC advanced seminars will be presenting posters with data from studies they have designed and conducted this semester. Refreshments will be provided. All are welcome; we hope you can attend.

Students in PSYC 0202 (Research Methods) will be presenting the research proposals they have been working on all semester in a poster session in the Great Hall. In addition, students in PSYC advanced seminars will be presenting posters with data from studies they have designed and conducted this semester. All are welcome; we hope you can attend.

Are considering becoming a psychology major? Are you already a psychology major? If so, please join us for an ice cream social on Friday, September 25th at 2:00 p.m., MBH Discovery Court (MBH Great Hall, in the event of inclement weather). You can talk with psychology faculty and majors about: upcoming course offerings, faculty research with students, questions you have about the major, and more!

Dr. Rebecca Kaufman Sripada (Midd NSCI ‘06 alum), Associate Professor (Univ of Michigan); Research Scientist (VA Center for Clinical Management); and Clinical Psychologist (VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System) Lecture title: Optimizing Treatment Outcomes for Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Description: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a large and growing problem for veterans and for the VA. PTSD currently affects 23% of returning veterans, and the number of veterans seeking specialized PTSD care in the VA has increased 250% in the past 10 years.

Brain, body, and mindfulness: New understandings of the “self” Lecturer: Catherine Kerr, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Director of Translational Neuroscience Contemplative Studies Initiative, Brown University This talk will describe recent studies drawn from the neuroscience of embodiment in order to lay out a novel understanding of the “self”.

The PSYC Department will be hosting their 3rd annual student-faculty dinner. PSYC/NSCI majors, minors, and prospectives, join the PSYC faculty for good food, good fun, and good company…don’t miss out!

Maladaptive alterations that result from severe or chronic stress exposure are associated with increased risk for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Chronic stress promotes dysregulation of the innate immune system leading to enhanced inflammatory signaling often associated with depressive symptomology. Growing evidence suggests that innate immune cells such as microglia, promote neuroinflammation in response to stress by releasing danger associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecules leading to increased inflammatory signaling.

Dr. Nate Kornell (Williams College) Lecture Title: Why do tests enhance learning? Description: Taking a test is an efficient way to learn. My talk will focus on the mechanisms underlying the benefits of testing. I will talk about the process of retrieving a memory, the pros and cons of making errors while learning, and the possibility that retrieval is beneficial because it recruits related information and integrates it into a memory.

Dr. Basso’s research focuses on the interaction between exercise and the brain. During her PhD, she discovered that the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens regulate the motivation for voluntary wheel running in the rat. For Basso’s post-doctoral research, she is investigating the effects of acute and chronic exercise on learning, memory, cognition, mood, and exercise motivation in humans. Collectively, this work is revealing the details and mechanisms of the bi-directional relationship between exercise and the brain. Dr.