Brain, Mind and Consciousness Lab

" 'Thoughts' and 'things' are names for two sorts of object, which common sense will always find contrasted and will always practically oppose to each other."

- William James (1904)
Does ‘Consciousness’ Exist

Lab Alumni

Kaitlin Seibert - Research Assistant

March 2010 - September 2010

I am a Cognitive Science, Music Performance, and Premed major in my third year at CWRU. I am working on the Individual Differences project, focusing on social processing and non-social reasoning in individuals with autism.

Kevin Barry - Student researcher

January 2009 - August 2010

Kevin graduated from CWRU with a BA in Cognitive Science and Mathematics in January 2011. He will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) starting Fall 2011 for a PhD in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems. He will be studying the influences of local environment, heuristics, and time pressure on human decision making. Kevin is also considering an additional MS in Cognitive Science or in Applied Mathematics.

Regina Cesaro

Regina Cesaro - Lab Manager

June 2008 - June 2010

Gina is now working at the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research & Development Center as Lab Manager for Dr. Mark E. Wheeler. Here, Gina is continuing her fMRI training through the exploration of decision making and memory in the aging brain. She will be applying to Univ. of Pittsburgh's Cognitive Psychology PhD program in the fall.

Katie Begany

Kateyln Begany - Research Assistant

May 2008 - May 2010

Katie is now working with Anthony Chen through the V.A. at UC
Berkeley, learning to operate the scanner, as well as more about
analysis (e.g. multivoxel pattern analysis on some of the data they're
collected). She has had the opportunity to sit in on a lot of collaborative
efforts amongst medical and academic researchers at both
institutions.

Rebecca Gans

Rebecca Gans - Student researcher

June 2009 - May 2010

I am a SOURCE funded researcher working over the summer of 2009 on the project "Individual differences in empathy, rationality and legal judgement." I am a rising junior majoring in Cognitive Science, Psychology and Sociology. I am interested in incorporating a social consciousness into research on human cognition. I hope to eventually earn a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.

Andrea Hayes

Andrea Hayes - Summer researcher

May 2009 - August 2009

I am an undergraduate psychology major at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I am involved in a project that studies how specific activities influence moral decision making, emotional intelligence and empathy. My interest is in bridging the gap between laboratory research and its functional application into everyday life and clinical settings.

Brooke Schepp - Research Assistant

August 2007 - March 2008

I am a recent graduate from Case Western Reserve University! That's pretty much all there is to say there. I am staying in the Cleveland area for another two years to continue my research. I am working in two labs, TAing, and hopefully saving up the money for graduate school. I'm also a huge Case geek and I know more about Star Wars and Lord of the Rings than you know about yourself.

Michael Barrie

Michael Barrie - Lab Manager, Research Assistant

May 2008 - August 2008

I am an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame majoring in mathematics. I am very interested in the sciences and am enjoying the opportunity to participate in this research project for summer. I am working on the 'maps in the brain' project, using matlab to assess topographic organization through novel analysis of fMRI data.

Viyan Udawatta - Student researcher

January 2008 - July 2008

I am a recent graduate from CWRU, and will be working in the lab through this summer 2008. I graduated with a degree in biology and a minor in philosophy, focusing mainly on neuroscience. In August I will start at the Ohio State College of Medicine.