Connecting you with the University of Missouri’s innovative research and creative activityArticles Tagged with brain
Begging the Bigger Questions
An interview with Carol Ward, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Anatomical SciencesWe see that as humans we are different from other modern primates, although we don't know exactly how that came to be. Unlocking this mystery has been Anthropology professor Carol Ward's life's work. While the fossil record is sketchy at times, it is crucial in estimating the chronology of certain key acquisitions of modern humans, be it walking on two feet, developing big brains, changing their diet, or changing their tool-making behavior. Working with fossils, Ward seeks to answer the bigger question—why did those changes occur?
Zealous Mercenaries
An interview with Habib Zaghouani , Professor, Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyIn a back corner of the University of Missouri’s medical building, a few floors above the hospital and tucked away to the right, Habib Zaghouani watches a cellular war. He has been up there for seven years, with an army of graduate students and a colony of mice, trying to understand why our bodies attack us and how we can make them stop.
This is Your Brain on Camera
An interview with Shawn Christ, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological SciencesA rainbow of feathers floats upward like a psychedelic butterfly. Fingers of color, violet and lime green, seem to flow outward from the tips of the wings. If you didn’t know better, you might assume it is a work of art. Beyond their beauty, for Shawn Christ these images taken at MU’s new Brain Imaging Center reveal the brain’s activity and connections. In his role as Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of MU’s Clinical Neuropsychology Laboratory, Christ studies how the relationship between the brain and behavior changes as we develop. Christ chose a career in psychology because it would combine two passions— working with kids and solving puzzles.
Audio and Video Tagged with brain
Evolution of Intelligence
From an interview with Carol Ward, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Anatomical SciencesCollaborating with Mark Flinn (psychology and anthropology) and David Geary (psychology) on how and why human brains developed as they did.
Introduction to Research
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns gives an introduction to his research on cognitive processes and the brain.
Introduction to Research (continued)
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns continues to give an overview of his research.
Cognitive Control
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyHow cognitive control processes work. What scholars know about the human brain.
Cognitive Control (continued)
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyHow cognitive control processes work. What scholars know about the human brain.
Analyzing Cognition in the Lab
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses how activity in different parts of brain can be observed in the lab.
Cognitive Control (continued)
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses more on cognitive control.
Brain Regions
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses activity in various brain regions as a result of different cognitive process.
Brain Imaging - Viewing Your Cognitive Activity
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses the technology used in his research to view brain activity.
FMRI in Psychology Resesarch
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses the use of FMRI in his research.
FMRI in Psychology Resesarch: How it Works
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses the process a person goes through to have the cognitive activities imaged.
FMRI in Psychology Resesarch: Viewing Brain Activity
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses how brain activity is viewed during an FMRI scan.
FMRI in Psychology Resesarch: History
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses how FMRI technologies started to be used in psychology research.
Stages of Schizophrenia
From an interview with John Kerns, Assistant Professor, PsychologyKerns discusses the characteristics of the different stages of schizophrenia.
The Potential to Reverse Multiple Sclerosis
From an interview with Habib Zaghouani , Professor, Department of Immunology and MicrobiologyZaghouani’s third project has had great success. Cara Haymaker, who is in charge of this research program, reports that they have identified a successful treatment for experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, a disease affecting mice that is very similar to multiple sclerosis in humans. So far, the research team has been able to completely reverse the disease in mice with two forms of treatment.
Picturing Task Sets
From an interview with Shawn Christ, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological SciencesThe majority of Christ’s work focuses on the brain’s inferior frontal gyrus. That’s the part of the brain involved in most higher-level abilities: working memory, strategy use, inhibitory control, and especially keeping track of the to-do list for any sort of task.
Combining Structure and Function
From an interview with Shawn Christ, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological SciencesChrist uses a lot of technology, including an eye tracker, projections, and functional and structural MRIs, to figure out why the brain works the way it does. All of these tools have their advantages and disadvantages.
