Neuroscience at Elon Funded by the Fund for Excellence in Arts and Sciences

Wally Bixby, PhD Assistant Professor, Exercise Science

Effects of the N-methyl-D-Aspartate receptor antagonist dextromethorphan on amplitude discrimination of dual-site vibrotactile stimulation. Average Tracking Response (1 sec. Adapting Stimulus) Post-ingestion (60 mg DX) Pre-ingestion Stephen Folger, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Physical Therapy Education

Mat Gendle, PhD Assistant Professor, Psychology

Associate Professor, Exercise Science Eric E. Hall, Ph.D. Exercise Psychophysiology What is psychophysiology? Stress reactivity Pain Cognitive function Mental Health Anxiety Depression Research Brain activity and affect Frontal regions Left frontal = positive Right frontal = negative Cognitive function and exercise Influence of exercise intensity Relationship to brain activity Influences of age

Assistant Professor, Exercise Science CAROLINE J. KETCHAM, Ph.D. What is Motor Control How the brain controls movement Simple tasks when decomposed are very complex What does the system control How does movement change thru development, aging, disease/injury How does the motor system learn/adapt Behavioral Neuroscientist Upper-extremity movements Reaching and grasping Pointing/aiming Drawing Spatial memory Coordination (eye-hand; multijoint) Adaptation to aging /development to neurological disorders/brain injury to altered environment Normal Substantia Nigra PD Substantia Nigra Kinematics - Velocity Kinematics - Acceleration 3D Movement Analysis 2D Movement Analysis

+ Kathryn Matera, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Chemistry Research Interests (related to neuroscience)  Free radical oxidation of biomolecules (Oxidative Stress)  Protein Structure-Function Relationships (Amyloid beta fibrils)  Enzyme Kinetics (Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition)

Paul C. Miller, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Exercise Science How does neuroscience fit with exercise physiology? We can use neuroscience techniques to assess; the responses of exercise treatments the perception of pain the effectiveness of physiological interventions in a variety of applied situations What are we currently investigating? The impact of protease supplementation on perceived pain and exercise affect following the onset of DOMS. Affective responses to treadmill running with various distractions. Impact of distraction on affective responses and time to fatigue during treadmill running at vigorous intensity. Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) by preference Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) by condition Perceived pain and exercise affect following the onset of DOMS

Duane McClearn, PhD Associate Professor, Psychology

Amy Overman, Psychology Department Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory and Aging Assistant Professor of Psychology Teaching & Research Interests What is the relationship of neurons and behavior? How is the brain of a young person different from that of an older person? Why do some types of memory get worse with age and others do not? Methodologies Behavioral – present stimuli and measure reaction times and accuracy of responses Event-related potentials – measure electrical activity of brain in response to the stimuli How much “plasticity” does the adult brain have? Can the brain compensate for damage or aging? What can the electrical activity of the brain tell us about thinking?