Neuroscience

Phone: 801-422-7369
Room: 350J EB
skcharles@byu.edu

Emphasis: Human motor control of the upper limb in health and in disorders such as tremors

Pre-requisites: No strict pre-requisites, but research assistants usually need to learn how to program in Matlab (similar to Python and C/C++) if they don’t already know; also, MeEn 552 is helpful (counts as a Neuroscience elective)

Phone: 801-422-9497
Room: 1036 KMBL
derin_cobia@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Cobia directs the Brain Imaging and Behavior Lab at BYU, which is focused on the implementation of computational anatomy tools to study neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, particularly schizophrenia. His interests include understanding the heterogeneity that exists in schizophrenia, such as biotypes and sex differences, by taking a cognitive neuroscience perspective, which involves linking cognitive and neurobiological characteristics to important clinical dimensions of the illness.
https://biblab.byu.edu/

Pre-requisites: NEURO 205

Phone: (801) 422-8080
Room: 3046 LSB
jeffrey_edwards@byu.edu

Emphasis: The study of Neuronal Synaptic Plasticity, and it relevance to Learning and Memory mechanisms, and reward pathways, as well as their relevance to disease states such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Addiction. We employ techniques such as electrophysiology, molecular biology, behavior, immunohistochemistry, optogenetics, etc. to answer questions in these fields
Edwards Lab (byu.edu)

Pre-requisites: Approved lab for Biophysics majors. Other majors are welcome as well. None required (better to start early), but Chem 105, Cell 305/363, or Neuro 205 are helpful.

Phone: 801-422-9757
Room: 1126 KMBL
shawn_gale@byu.edu

Emphasis: Neurocognitive and Neuropsychiatric Outcome in Infectious Disease

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-6357
Room: 1072 KMBL
dawson_hedges@byu.edu

Emphasis: Factors that contribute to neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric outcomes with a particular focus on -the effects of chronic infection and inflammation.

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-1324
Room: 1024 KMBL
julianne.holt-lunstad@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Holt-Lunstad's research examines the association between our social relationships and physical health and longevity, the pathways (e.g., cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, genetic, metabolic, immune, and neural) by which this association occurs, potential moderating factors, and how relationships may be applied in interventions aimed at improving health and reducing risk. Her work is interdisciplinary and takes a multilevel approach utilizing diverse methods (self-report, biological, and behavioral data) and concepts.

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-1170
Room: 1082 KMBL
mona_hopkins@byu.edu


Emphasis: My research focuses on brain-behavior relationships. One area of research examines the effect of critical illness on cognitive and psychological function (i.e., anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder) and the relationship between cognitive function and brain imaging. Another area of research assesses whether interventions such as physical or cognitive rehabilitation can improve cognitive function following critical illness. A third area of research focuses on memory and how memory is affected following brain injury.


Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-7949
Room: 1090 KMBL
daniel_kay@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Kay is interested in understanding the mechanisms and functions of sleep. He investigates sleep disturbances in relation to transdiagnostic features of psychiatric disorders across units of analysis, from genes and circuits to self-report and behavior. His sleep research laboratory is currently conducting two major projects that will help answer how sleep can be used to prevent and treat psychiatric disorders such as depression.

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-2532
Room: 1074 KMBL
kirwan@byu.edu

Dr. Kirwan is interested in how the brain forms and retains long-term declarative memories and how we use those memories to guide future actions. He uses functional MRI (fMRI), event-related potentials, and behavioral testing techniques in his research. More information about the Kirwan lab can be found at kirwanlab.org.

If you are interested in becoming a research assistant in the lab, you can fill out this form.

Phone: 801-422-6125
Room: 244 TLRB
dawson_hedges@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Larson’s research utilizes a convergence of information from neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience methodologies to examine the mechanisms of cognitive control in healthy individuals and cognitive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury (TBI). He uses event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show brain-based changes in how people monitor and manage their environment following head injury. He also studies how exercise influences cognitive functioning, the role of inhibitory control in food and diet behaviors, and the role of psychopathology (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD] and depression) in influencing cognitive control processes and concomitant brain activity.



Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-5978
Room: 1062 KMBL
steven_luke@byu.edu

Emphasis: The major focus of my research is reading, which is a complex activity that involves many different processes, most notably language, and vision. I also study other aspects of language, such as language development and word and sentence comprehension, as well as other visual tasks, such as scene perception and visual search. Many different groups participate in my studies, including children and adolescents, second language learners, and individuals from various clinical populations. In my research, I primarily use eye-tracking technology, although I also use MRI and EEG to study how the brain understands and integrates visual and language information during reading and other tasks.

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-5977
Room: 1064 KMBL
Rebecca_Lundwall@byu.edu

Emphasis: Our research focuses on tracking developmental changes in cognitive abilities, such as attention, and investigating how these changes impact behavior, including academic success, the development of social problem-solving, and other functional skills. We have conducted studies of genetic influences on reflexive attention (attention to suddenly appearing stimuli), but are also interested in developmental changes with autism and following a concussion. We are hopeful that our research will eventually lead to more effective interventions that prevent or minimize developmental problems with cognition.
https://cogdevelopment.byu.edu/

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-7658
Room: 293 TLRB
tricia_merkley@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Merkley's research focuses on neuroimage analysis and neuropsychological assessment to investigate brain changes following traumatic brain injury and how they relate to neurobehavioral functioning during recovery. These studies consider the effects of TBI in both pediatric and adult populations, with the recognition that traumatic brain injury can adversely affect future brain development in childhood, in addition to impacting cognitive abilities that were previously developed.

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-5294
Room: 1070 KMBL
jarednielsen@byu.edu

Emphasis: In the Nielsen Brain and Behavior Lab, we are interested in answering questions about the organization of the brain and how neurological and psychiatric illnesses disrupt its organization. To answer these questions, we use a variety of analytical techniques to extract quantitative information from MRI scans.
https://brain.byu.edu/

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-5806
Room: 2102B JFSB
chris_porter@byu.edu

Emphasis: Research interests include the socialization of behavioral and psychophysiological components of young children's individual characteristics (temperament, emotionality) with a particular interest in linkages to individual differences in emerging neural control on children's heart rate variability (i.e., cardiac vagal tone). Additional interests include familial and individual factors influencing the formation of early childhood attachment systems and familial and individual factors influencing the transition to parenting and the emergence of parenting belief systems (self-efficacy).

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-8752
Room: 3045 LSB
sns34@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Sudweeks studies neurotransmitter receptors that act as ion channels. These ligand-gated ion channels are involved in synaptic transmission and are implicated in several pathological conditions. They are also the pharmacological targets in many therapeutic situations. These ion channels are expressed in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Specific receptors for the neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin (5-HT3), glycine (GlyR), and acetylcholine (nAChRs) are all members of the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily.
https://cell.byu.edu/sudweeks-lab

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-2646
Room: 3048 LSB
asuli@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Suli's research focuses in understanding the development and formation of neurocircuits at the genetic and molecular level. There are two main projects in the lab: 1. Understanding the formation of synapses in mechanosensory hair cells, the specialized sensory cells that mediate hearing and balance in mammals and are additionally used in fish and amphibians as part of the lateral line sensory system to detect prey and predators. 2. Identification and development of neurons in the midbrain that receive and integrate inputs from multiple sensory systems, such visual, auditory and somatosensory, and which coordinate appropriate motor response to external stimuli.
https://cell.byu.edu/suli-lab

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-7562
Room: 3066 LSB
dixon_woodbury@byu.edu

Emphasis: Dr. Woodbury's research is in molecular neuroscience and focuses on membrane biophysics, particularly vesicle/membrane fusion and its regulation by SNARE proteins. SNARE proteins form the molecular motor that drives exocytosis and are the target of tetanus and botulinum toxin. Additional research looks at effects of alcohols and cholesterol on exocytosis. More information about the Woodbury lab can be found at https://cell.byu.edu/woodbury-lab

Pre-requisites: None

Phone: 801-422-2402
Room: 3019 LSB
jordanyorg@byu.edu

Emphasis: Jordan Yorgason and colleagues are interested in the neurobiology of motivation for natural and drug rewards. The laboratory uses electrophysiology, electrochemistry, functional microscopy and behavioral techniques to study the effects of opiates on anxiety related brain circuitry. We are also interested in how psychostimulants affect midbrain dopamine circuitry, and how dopamine underlies learned associations for drug-seeking behavior. We are continually developing new techniques to study the pathology of addiction.

Pre-requisites: None