Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

HSP Category: Sciences

May Wang

It has been difficult to isolate the neural activity linking a particular visual stimulus to the behavior it triggers. This may be due to variability in neural activity caused by factors such as pupil size fluctuations, and research has shown that pupil dilation reduces neural activity variability. May hypothesizes that pupil dilation prior to presentation of visual stimuli will improve the behavioral response of mice performing a visual contrast detection task. Using two-photon calcium imaging, May will examine the neural activity of mice performing the task while recording their pupils. […]

Selina Pacheco

Childhood family income is a powerful predictor of academic achievement and mental health. Here, we ask whether children living in poverty who beat the odds by succeeding academically are subsequently protected from–or more at risk for–internalizing disorders. Prior research indicates that high-performing children in poverty tend to have higher coupling between lateral frontoparietal network (LFPN; supports executive functions), and Default Mode Network (DMN; supports internally-directed thought); this is in contrast to research with high-income children, for whom this pattern of connectivity is linked to worse academic performance, and importantly, more […]