Researchers 2023-Present

Alev Erisir (Administrative Principal Investigator)

Professor of Psychology Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience

I study the fine structure of neurons and other brain cells along sensory pathways in developing and aging brains. I am particularly interested in how synaptic circuities are formed, maintained, and how they are modified by experience. Using quantitative electron microscopy, tract-tracing immuno-identification and 3D reconstruction approaches in behaviorally and physiologically characterized animal models, my work aims to identify the molecular players in axon reorganization, synaptic pruning and sensory plasticity. In addition, we study the development of neuropathological alterations in animal models of aging and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Alev Erisir

Per Sederberg (Administrative Principal Investigator)

Professor of Psychology | Director Cognitive Science Program Cognitive Psychology, Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience, Quantitative Psychology, UVA Computational Memory Lab

Dr. Sederberg joined the Psychology Department in the Fall of 2017. His research broadly investigates the successes and failures of human memory with the overarching goal of developing a comprehensive theory of memory formation and retrieval that links behavior to underlying neural mechanisms. His work combines a number of approaches to uncover the neural correlates and develop computational models of the complex dynamics of human memory processes, including multivariate analysis of neural data collected via fMRI and EEG, large-scale behavioral experiments, and computational modeling to guide and interpret his experimental findings.

Per Sederberg

Jamie Morris (Primary co-Investigator)

Professor and Chair of Psychology Cognitive Psychology, Social Neuroscience Laboratory

My research program focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying human social behavior. I am particularly interested in how the brain supports basic social perceptual processes such as understanding information conveyed by facial expressions, eye-gaze direction, body posture and biological motion. Beyond identifying and characterizing these basic systems, my goal is to understand how they change in development, are variable across individuals, and how they may contribute to typical and atypical social behaviors. To achieve our work, my lab employs a multimodal approach that includes functional magnetic brain imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG/ERP), eyetracking, molecular genetics, and behavioral experiments. My work embraces a life-span perspective, in which we acknowledge that these systems allowing for social processes develop and change in meaningful ways related to various stages of life.

James Morris

Chad Dodson (Primary co-Investigator)

Professor and Chair of Psychology Cognitive Psychology, Social Neuroscience Laboratory

Our research focuses on memory with an emphasis on the occurrence of (a) false memories, (b) overconfidence in one’s memories and (c) changes in memory across the lifespan. For example, we have been examining factors that contribute to eyewitness identification errors, particularly those that are made with high confidence. Although growing research suggests that high confidence eyewitness identifications are generally reliable, we have focused on three factors that are systematically related to high confidence misidentifications: (1) face recognition ability; (2) decision-time and (3) how eyewitnesses justify their identification of a face.

Chad Dodson

Hudson Golino (Primary co-Investigator)

Professor and Chair of Psychology Cognitive Psychology, Social Neuroscience Laboratory

Hudson Golino’s research focuses on quantitative methods, psychometrics and machine learning applied in the fields of psychology, health and education. He is particularly interested in new ways to assess the number of dimensions (i.e. latent variables) underlying multivariate data using network psychometrics. He has been developing a new set of quantitative techniques and metrics, integrated in a general approach – termed Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA), that is part of the relatively new area of network psychometrics. Particularly, he combines network science, information and quantum information theory, as well as computational methods to address fundamental problems in psychometrics.

Hudson Golino

Mariana Teles (Administrative VCAP)

Associate Professor of Psychology

Mariana Teles conducts cross-sectional and longitudinal studies to explore the complexity of the cognitive aging process and determine the best psychological and behavioral predictors of dysfunctionalities or disorders among elderly people. She also studies the protective factors that can lead to healthy aging and well-being. Using a multi-perspective approach, Teles aims to investigate how a diverse set of non-pharmacological interventions can attenuate or delay the cognitive decline associated with aging. During her PhD research, Teles developed and tested a cognitive intervention program to verify the long-term efficacy of the cognitive gains attributable to the treatment and its near and far transfer effects. Influenced by the wide debate about the cognitive enrichment hypothesis, Teles is currently exploring the plasticity potential in older adults and the mechanisms underlying the development of cognitive reserve and compensatory strategies over an individual’s life span.

Mariana Teles