I conduct research on long-term episodic memory, with a focus on recognition. I investigate questions about different processes and representations that underlie our memories. Aside from gaining a better understanding of memory in general, one of my major aims is to understand how well our theories and models of memory work; how well do they describe and predict behavior? I primarily use behavioral measures and process models to investigate theories of memory, focusing on topics like unitization, relationships between memory processes, item vs. relational memory, recollection, familiarity, forgetting, and reconsolidation.
Joel Snyder
Dr. Snyder received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Cornell University and was a post-doctoral fellow at University of Toronto and Harvard University before starting the Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at UNLV. He is an expert on auditory perception and its neural basis and has published numerous empirical studies and literature reviews in top psychology and neuroscience journals. His research has been supported by UNLV, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the REAM Foundation. Dr. Snyder’s research accomplishments were recognized with the 2009 Samuel Sutton Award for Early Distinguished Contribution to Human ERPs and Cognition, and the William Morris Excellence in Scholarship Award. He was also the UNLV nominee for the 2018 Nevada Regents’ Researcher Award.
Edward Ester
My research examines how people store and manipulate information over short intervals to solve problems and make decisions – what we typically call short-term memory. We use behavioral methods combined with non-invasive measurements of brain activity (primarily EEG and fMRI) to examine many basic questions about short-term memory: how does the brain represent information that’s no longer present in the environment? How are memory representations created, accessed, updated, and deleted when no longer necessary?
Marian Berryhill
My research falls in the domain of cognitive neuroscience. I study how we hold on to a few items in working memory and use them for immediate task demands. My lab investigates what factors matter in getting information into working memory, how we maintain and manipulate information, and how well we retrieve it. For example, we are currently investigating the consequences of familiar and unfamiliar distractor items on older adults’ working memory performance. We use a range of experimental techniques in human participants, some with brain lesions. These include fMRI, fNIRS, tDCS/tACS, and HD-EEG.
Dustin Hines
The brain operates as a complex orchestration that involves many different cellular players. Dr. Dustin Hines’ research is aimed at understanding the role that glial cells play under normal and pathological conditions, which include neuropsychiatric disorders (depression), traumatic brain injury, stroke and Alzheimer disease. In particular, Dr. Hines researches how astrocytes and microglia cells both talk and listen to neurons. Dr. Hines employs molecular genetics, biochemistry, confocal and two photon microscopy, electrophysiology and behavioral assessments in mouse models to gain understanding of how glia cells impact brain signaling, circuitry and behavior. Dr. Hines’ research ultimately is directed towards understanding how all of the cells of the brain are orchestrated into the precise symphony that we call behavior.
Jefferson Kinney
Dr. Jeff Kinney’s research area is behavioral neuroscience with an emphasis in two general areas; the neurobiology of learning & memory and the biological basis of several neurological/psychological disorders. Research projects in Dr. Kinney’s laboratory focus on the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms involved in various types of associative/spatial learning with particular emphasis on glutamate, GABA, and a few neuropeptides. Additional research projects focus on animal models of schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and mood disorders. The investigation of these disorders incorporates transgenic models and identifying potential therapeutic targets. The laboratory utilizes psychopharmacological, behavioral genetic, and molecular biology techniques to address experimental questions. Dr. Kinney is open to working with graduate students on other related topics in behavioral neuroscience.