Max Elliott, clinical psychology PhD student working with Ahmad Hariri and the Moffitt & Caspi lab, has received a prestigious F99/K00 Transition to Aging grant from the National Institutes of Health. The award was created with the objective to increase, retain, and diversify the pool of trainees in aging and geriatric research. Max is interested in further understanding the structure of mental illness through investigating the interacting relationships between genes… read more about PhD student Max Elliot receives Transition to Aging Research Award for Predoctoral Students (F99/K00) »
An August 2020 report, prepared by the P&N Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, & Climate, has been shared with the P&N Community with the following statement: "This is not a diversity statement for public display; rather, it is a road map of constructive, accountable actions that can intentionally lead to a more diverse and inclusive department, one with a climate that supports all community members' personal and professional goals." The report was composed by Task Force faculty members… read more about P&N Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, & Climate releases August 2020 report »
Duke Service Learning has introduced its Fall 2020 service-learning assistants (SLAs), among the students are two Neuroscience majors: Pierce Hollier, Duke ‘22, Junior, Majoring in Neuroscience, Minoring in Global Health — SLA for Advanced Intermediate Spanish with Service-Learning (SPANISH 205) with Eileen Anderson Lilly Kelemen, Duke ‘23, Sophomore, Majoring in Neuroscience, Minoring in Education — SLA for… read more about Neuroscience undergrads become fall 2020 Duke Service-Learning Assistants (SLAs) »
DURHAM, N.C. -- COVID-19 has stripped control and predictability from us. We can’t do the things we want, and we aren’t sure when this mess is going to end. So we’re anxious and depressed and overwhelmed. Many of us are trying to work and parent and keep households running. Many of us are “essential,” which means we have to work in public, putting our health at risk. It’s a lot to deal with, but there are ways to cope, help others, and shepherd our kids to the other side of all of this. Speaking to reporters Wednesday… read more about Anxious and Depressed? Experts Share Tips for Coping in Pandemic »
This fall semester, Duke Kunshan University lecturer Ashton Merck will be communicating with her students more than usual. She plans to check in with her students early and often through WeChat messages, email, and virtual office hours. Merck hopes that by staying in contact, students will feel more connected to the course and to each other, no matter where they are in the world. “I think that especially in this stressful time, instructors have a responsibility to open up lines of communication that… read more about How Duke Faculty Prepared for the Fall Semester »
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is pleased to release its special funding 2019-2020 Impact Report, Charles Lafitte Foundation Program in Psychological Research at Duke University. The document highlights the program's achievements with feature stories, data, photographs, and student testimonials. A link to the full 15-page report can be found below. In a statement from leadership about the special funding opportunities provided to the department, Professor and… read more about Special Funding Report 2019-2020: Charles Lafitte Foundation Program in Psychological Research at Duke University »
DURHAM, N.C. --If you’re reluctant to identify as a Democrat or Republican even though you are staunchly liberal or conservative, you’re probably also less prone to bias in other ways. In a time where political affiliations can feel like they’re leading to tribal warfare, a research team from Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has found that the desire to be part of a group is what makes some of us more likely to discriminate against people outside our groups, even in non-political settings. “It's not… read more about Desire to Be in a Group Leads to Harsher Judgment of Others »
After tracking the lives of thousands of people from birth to midlife, four of the world’s preeminent psychologists, including P&N faculty members Avshalom Caspi and Terrie E. Moffitt, reveal what they have learned about how humans develop in their new book, The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life, out now from Harvard University Press. The book explores the power of longitudinal cohort studies to understand human nature and answers questions… read more about Caspi & Moffitt reveal findings on how humans develop in new book, "The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life" »
Compelled by the pandemic to approach teaching in new and creative ways, Duke faculty members — including P&N's Bridgette Hard and Sarah Gaither — share ways they've prepared for the start of the fall semester. Published in Duke Today, August 14, 2020 by Eric Ferreri This fall semester, Duke Kunshan University lecturer Ashton Merck will be communicating with her students more than usual. She plans to check in with her students early and often through WeChat messages,… read more about Faculty members Bridgette Hard and Sarah Gaither share teaching approaches for fall semester »
A virtual book celebration of Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods' Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity will take place via Zoom on Friday, August 21, co-sponsored by Duke University’s Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience, Evolutionary Anthropology, and Philosophy, and The Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and The Kenan Institute for Ethics. Featuring: Sarah… read more about Virtual book celebration announced for "Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity" »
Elsa Friis, a graduate student in clinical psychology, has been awarded the Richard W. Morrell Community Commitment and Advocacy Award by Emory University - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine for her critical work during her clinical internship. This award is periodically given to a trainee or faculty member who best demonstrates the spirit and action of commitment to community. Friis is recognized for her advocacy work including the… read more about Graduate student Elsa Friis receives award for advocacy work, co-authors article on pandemic response behavioral health »
New Hire Staff Spotlight P&N welcomes new staff member Sarah Broz as its Research Administration Specialist, a new position within the department. Broz was hired during the time of COVID-19 and she shares a bit about her first weeks at Duke along with a bit about her personal interests. Can you describe your first weeks at Duke? “I started during COVID-19 when the majority of Duke employees worked from home, so it was an unusual start. I immediately video-… read more about Sarah Broz joins staff as Research Administration Specialist »
In the summer of 2020, the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience issued a charge to form the P&N Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, and Climate. As its first act, The Task Force created the Stella Powell-Williams Award, using internal support to supplement selected grants submitted as part of a special call for graduate and postdoctoral research projects related to identity, diversity, inclusion, equity… read more about Task Force announces recipients of the 2020 Stella Powell-Williams Award »
With generous support from The Charles Lafitte Foundation, the recently-formed P&N Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, and Climate is assisting the department with redirecting funds previously designated for (now-prohibited) travel toward support for small and large graduate and postdoctoral research projects related to identity, diversity, inclusion, equity, and thriving. The Task Force crafted a special call to highlight the wide range of research topics that would… read more about P&N graduate students awarded funding for psychological research related to identity, diversity, inclusion, equity, and thriving »
Felipe De Brigard, the Fuchsberg-Levine Family Associate Professor of philosophy and psychology and neuroscience, explains that nostalgia doesn’t need real memories because an imagined will suffice. Read the article at Aeon. read more about Nostalgia Reimagined »
Congratulations to the undergraduate student participants of the 2020 Vertical Integration Program (VIP) — an annual summer research program for Duke University Psychology majors. The 2020 program was a unique experience due to the research restrictions set in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All research efforts, as well as the concluding poster session, were held virtually. Beginning in May, VIP students conducted research with P&N graduate students and faculty mentors… read more about 2020 Vertical Integration Program (VIP) concludes with virtually presented poster session »
Different use of brain circuits may help explain the tenacity of post-traumatic stress Published: June 29, 2020 in Duke Today by Karl Leif Bates DURHAM, N.C. – Your brain handles a perceived threat differently depending on how close it is to you. If it’s far away, you engage more problem-solving areas of the brain. But up close, your animal instincts jump into action and there isn’t as much reasoning, like when the guy at the haunted house jumps up right next to you. And that,… read more about New Study from the Lab of Professor Kevin LaBar Reveals that Closer Threats Inspire a More Primitive Kind of Fear »
Writing with May Ling Halim, Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, explains psychological research that shows discussions about race are essential in reducing bias in both children and parents. Read the article at NBC News. read more about How to Raise Anti-racist Babies, According to Psychology »
It's Okay to Rest Your Brain -- Even in a Pandemic by Jonathan Black, published June 22, 2020 A small square of gray paint in Sofia Rydin-Gray’s home symbolizes her realization that being productive had taken on a whole new meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sofia Rydin-Gray, right, and her 11-year-old daughter Nelly take a walk around their neighborhood. She painted the mark in March when she planned to switch her 11-year-old daughter Nelly’s room from beige to a dark gray. By June, the only… read more about Disrupted Focus and Lower Energy are the Brain’s Response to the Pandemic »
DURHAM, N.C. – The neighborhood a child grows up in may influence their health for years to come in previously invisible ways. A long-term study of 2,000 children born in England and Wales and followed to age 18 found that young adults raised in communities marked by more economic deprivation, physical dilapidation, social disconnection and danger display differences in the epigenome -- the proteins and chemical compounds that regulate the activity of their genes. The researchers say the study lends support to the… read more about Adolescents From Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Show Gene Regulation Differences »
On June 15, 2020, the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience announced the official creation of a faculty-led task force for planning and actions around diversity, inclusion, and climate. In a message to the community, department Chair Scott Huettel stated, "We are calling this a task force rather than a committee for two reasons: (a) we want to emphasize the need for action, and (b) we want these topics to not just be the province of one committee, but embedded… read more about Psychology & Neuroscience Department Creates Anti-Racist Task Force »
Professor Michael Tomasello has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology for his book, Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny. The Maccoby Award is presented to the author of a book in the field of psychology that has had or promises to have a profound effect on one or more of the areas represented by Division 7, including promoting research in the field of developmental psychology; fostering the development… read more about Michael Tomasello Receives Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology »
Everyone Is Talking About Race Right Now. But How And For How Long? By Stacia Brown & Anta Rao, June 11, 2020, Embodied Series, WUNC, The State of Things Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke, discusses interracial conversations about race and racism with NPR host Anita Rao. Listen here (35:27) Nationwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd are still underway, and they have reignited… read more about Navigating Cross-Racial Conversations in a Time of Civil Unrest »
Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, studies race, gender, identity development, stereotyping and social perceptions. In collaboration with May Ling Halim at California State University, Long Beach, as well as Kristina Olson at Princeton, Yarrow Dunham at Yale, and Kristin Pauker at the University of Hawaii, Gaither is embarking on a National Science Foundation-funded study, looking at the racial and gender biases in children of many racial groups… read more about Finding Comfort in Discomfort: How Children form Racist Attitudes and What Parents Can do to Prevent Racism »
Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, explains the science behind how dogs help us cope. Read more at Psychology Today. read more about I Got a Pandemic Dog That Also Helps Me Process Racism »
Studies of Brain Activity Aren't as Useful as Scientists Thought, By Karl Leif Bates, Published June 3, 2020 Hundreds of published studies over the last decade have claimed it's possible to predict an individual’s patterns of thoughts and feelings by scanning their brain in an MRI machine as they perform some mental tasks. But a new analysis by some of the researchers who have done the most work in this area finds that those measurements are highly suspect when it comes to drawing conclusions about… read more about Professor Ahmad Hariri Reanalyzes Years of Functional MRI Data »
In response to the changed research climate in the era of COVID-19, the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience put out a special call for Graduate/Postdoctoral Research Awards: Psychological Research related to COVID-19. With generous support from The Charles Lafitte Foundation, funds that were was previously designated for now prohibited conference attendance and travel were redirected to support small research projects related to… read more about P&N Graduates Awarded Funding for Psychological Research Related to COVID-19 »
Hundreds of published studies over the last decade have claimed it's possible to predict an individual’s patterns of thoughts and feelings by scanning their brain in an MRI machine as they perform some mental tasks. But a new analysis by some of the researchers who have done the most work in this area finds that those measurements are highly suspect when it comes to drawing conclusions about any individual person’s brain. Watching the brain through a functional MRI machine (fMRI) is still great for finding the general brain… read more about Studies of Brain Activity Aren’t as Useful as Scientists Thought »
COVID-19 is bringing new scientific, behavioral and cultural challenges every day. The DIBS Faculty Network consists of 200 interdisciplinary neuroscience researchers from across Duke’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Law; Pratt School of Engineering, Fuqua School of Business, and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Their research can help us understand how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing people’s decision-making, behavior, choices, and physical and mental health. The following faculty interviews… read more about COVID-19: A Neuroscience Perspective »
Members of the Yin Lab including Ryan Hughes, Konstantin Bakhurin, Elijah Petter, Glenn Watson, Namsoo Kim, Alexander Friedman, and Henry Yin have published a new paper on the functional significance of dopamine in the journal Current Biology. Despite decades of research, the exact function of dopamine remains controversial. While many believe that it encodes a reward prediction error (RPE), the Yin Lab's reseach … read more about Yin Lab Publishes Paper in Current Biology: Ventral Tegmental Dopamine Neurons Control the Impulse Vector during Motivated Behavior »