Ethan Morris is a recent graduate who majored in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. He was awarded a Fall 2016 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on human recognition under Dr. Daniel Dilks.
The purpose of my project is to determine exactly what information these regions are encoding and how this information relates to one another. Prior research has suggested that the neural systems for both face and place processing may show a common division of labor in which more posterior brain regions represent the parts of faces and places (i.e. eyes, hair, furniture, walls) while more anterior brain regions represent the arrangement of those parts (i.e. face, kitchen, living room), suggesting then that the way we recognize faces and places is to essentially build them up from their parts. We are more rigorously testing this hypothesis across both face and place cortex, aiming to provide the strongest evidence to date for “parts-whole” processing across face and place information. Beyond this, we are the first to examine if this “parts-whole” processing mechanism is shared across both internal and external representations of space. These stimuli are shown in Figures 1 and 2.
My time working on this project has been immensely rewarding. Throughout my nine months of researching this question, I have encountered unforeseen challenges and I have grown a far greater appreciation for the detail of thought that is required for professional research. For example, this spring, all the work I had done for two months was lost in an unfortunate server crash. The stimuli of faces and places I had spent countless hours on were gone. After a few minutes of frustration, I regrouped. As soon as I began to view what was once a tiresome do-over as an opportunity for improvement, I realized that this incident was not so bad as it once seemed. As I redid the stimuli, I noticed details I had not seen before and came up with new ideas that dramatically improved my work. I learned that while an obstacle in a research setting may seem daunting, I could apply my work ethic to overcome the setback. Through this, I gained a greater appreciation for the nature of research and learned patience for error.
My experience in undergraduate research at Emory has been eye-opening and has defined my time in college. I have gained hands-on experience in research design and in particular techniques that are invaluable in the field of cognitive neuroscience (i.e. fMRI, see photos). Additionally, I have learned critical analysis skills and finer attention to detail, both of which have made me a better learner. Before I researched in the Dilks Lab, I frequently accepted research studies without further inquiry, essentially saying, “They are full-time researchers, they must know better than me.” From my time in the Dilks Lab, I now understand that all research is subject to critique and questioning, and that questioning a study is the best way to understand the research itself. Beyond this, I have learned practical skills in my lab. Working in an active lab with multiple graduate and undergraduate students has taught me to be a more flexible and willing team member. Undergraduate research has been an indispensable experience, and I would highly encourage anyone with an interest in directly participating in field-defining research to explore the many opportunities Emory has to offer. I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute my time and effort to a project that has real import on the scientific field of cognitive neuroscience.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
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