This course is an investigation of affective priming and creation of rigorously counterbalanced, fully computerized testing paradigm. Includes background readings, study design, counterbalancing, study execution, data analysis, presentation of poster, and final paper.
Experiments:
The three experiments are designed for students to develop new stimuli, and to validate all of those stimuli in subjects of various ages prior to functional MRI scanning. Students develop probe trials to make sure that there is enough time between the stimuli presentations so that the fMRI can discriminate the signals.
Experiment 1
Pilot experiment to validate stimuli.
Experiment 2
Second-level experiment in the target population with controls before scanning.
Experiment 3
The full experiment, including stimuli developed in the first two experiments, performed with control subjects in an fMRI.
Assignments:
Poster
Produce a poster describing the experiment and intermediate results. Poster should include introduction, materials, methods, and results for Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, as well as discussion of both. Poster can be printed on a single 48in X 48in sheet or on multiple 8.5in X 11in sheets.
Final Paper
Produce a final paper describing Experiments 1, 2, and 3. Paper should include introduction, materials, methods, results, and discussion for each experiment, as well as a final discussion of the significance of the three experiments together. Paper should be 15-20 pages long, double-spaced.