LRDC has developed a strong research component in cognitive neuroscience in recognition of the importance of the neurosciences in the study of learning. LRDC researchers are active in the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a partnership of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. At LRDC, researchers have a rich tradition of study focused on understanding the cognitive processes underlying higher-level reasoning in complex tasks. Researchers conduct fundamental work in laboratories, work sites, and other environments and use these findings to inform research on the mechanisms underlying reasoning in classroom content, such as math and science.

Core Faculty: Julie Fiez, Charles Perfetti, Erik Reichle, Walter Schneider, Christian Schunn, Natasha Tokowicz and Mark Wheeler

Students work with faculty to conduct research in these areas and are drawn from the following academic program(s).

Academic Programs:
Center for Neural Basis of Cognition
Cognitive Program, Department of Psychology

Selected Projects

Articulatory / Phonological Processes in Working Memory

Behavioral Brain (B2) Research Training Program Funding

Biological Mechanisms of Cognitive Learning

Biologically Accelerated Learning Technology (BALT)

Cerebellum and Language

Clinical Application of High Definition Fiber Tracking (HDFT)

Cognitive Science Learning Laboratory

Collaborative Dialogue Agent for Peer Learning Interactions

Evidence accumulation in perceptual decision making

Integrating Social and Cognitive Elements of Discovery and Innovation

Multimodal Characterization of Brain Networks

Optimization of Diffusion Imaging Methods

Perceptual memory in aging and early dementia

Reading and Language Group

Reading and The Right Fusiform

Role of Preparation in Memory Retrieval

Training in Arithmetical Fluency

 

Cognitive Neuroscience Learning Technology
Higher-Level Learning Reading and Language
Informal Learning Reforming School Practice
Learning Policy Social and Motivational Factors
Selected Publications

Jamal, N. I., Piche, A. W., Napoliello, E. M., Perfetti, C. A., & Eden, G. F. (in press). Neural basis of single-word reading in Spanish-English bilinguals. Human Brain Mapping. PDF/Abstract

Gallo, D. A., & Wheeler, M. E. (in press). Episodic memory. To appear in D. Reisberg (Ed.), Oxford handbook of cognitive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. PDF/Abstract

Jung, K., Leemans, A. , Marlene Behrmann, M., & Schneider, W. (submitted). Removal of the partial volume effect of free water by substituting the acquired b0 image with a synthesized b0 image in diffusion MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging. PDF/Abstract

Moses-Kolko, E. L., Fraser, D., Wisner, K. L., James, J. A., Sual, A. T., Fiez, J. A., & Phillips, M. L. (in press). Rapid habituation of ventral striatal response to reward receipt in postpartum depression. Biological Psychiatry. PDF/Abstract

Ploran, E. J., Tremel, J. J., Nelson, S. M., & Wheeler, M. E. (in press). High quality but limited quantity perceptual evidence produces neural accumulation in frontal and parietal cortex. Cerebral Cortex.  PDF/Abstract

Ploran, E. J., Tremel, J. J., Nelson, S. M., & Wheeler, M. E. (in press). High quality but limited quantity perceptual evidence produces neural accumulation in frontal and parietal cortex. Cerebral Cortex.  PDF/Abstract

Manelis, A., Wheeler, M. E., Paynter, C., Storey, L., & Reder, L. (2011). Opposing patterns of neural priming in same-exemplar vs. different-exemplar repetition predict subsequent memory. NeuroImage, 55, 763-772. PDF/Abstract

Verstynen, T. D., Jarbo, K., Pathak, S., & Schneider W. (2011). In vivo mapping of microstructural somatotopies in the human corticospinal pathways. Journal of Neurophysiology, 105, 336-346. PDF/Abstract

Wilckens, K. A., Tremel, J. J., Wolk, D. A., & Wheeler, M. E. (2011). Effects of task-set adoption on ERP correlates of controlled and automatic recognition memory. NeuroImage, 55, 1384-1392.

 PDF/Abstract

Chein, J. M., & Fiez, J. A. (2010). Evaluating models of working memory through the effects of concurrent irrelevant information. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 139(1), 117-137. PDF/Abstract

Cole, M. W., Pathak, S., & Schneider, W. (2010). Identifying the brain's most globally connected regions. NeuroImage, 49(4), 3132-3148. PDF/Abstract

Fernandez-Miranda, J. C., Pathak, S., & Schneider, W. (2010). High-definition fiber tractography and language (Letter to the Editor). Journal of Neurosurgery, 1-2. PDF/Abstract

Phillips, J. S., Velanova, K., Wolk, D. A., & Wheeler, M. E. (2009). Left posterior parietal cortex participates in both task preparation and episodic retrieval. NeuroImage, 46(4), 1-13. PDF/Abstract

Ben-Yehudah, G., & Fiez, J. A. (2008). Impact of cerebellar lesions on reading and phonological processing. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1145, 260-274. PDF/Abstract

Cox, K. M, Aizenstein, J. H., & Fiez, J. A. (2008). Striatal outcome processing in healthy aging. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, 304-317. PDF/Abstract

Tricomi, E., & Fiez, J. A. (2008). Feedback signals in the caudate reflect goal achievement on a declarative memory task. NeuroImage, 41, 1154-1167. PDF/Abstract

Wilson, S. J., Sayette, M. A., Delgado, M. R., & Fiez, J. A. (2008). Effect of smoking opportunity on responses to monetary gain and loss in the caudate nucleus. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 428-434. PDF/Abstract