Maia Pujara

What would life be like if you grew up without a large chunk of brain tissue (your prefrontal cortex) located at the front of the brain that makes you “you”? Or without your amygdala, a structure buried deep in the brain that helps us learn about emotions and develop fear responses? Neuropsychology is the specific field of study that is conducted in laboratory, clinical, and forensic settings to deepen our understanding of how the brain gives rise to various aspects of perception (sight, hearing, taste, smell, etc.) and cognition (language, emotions, personality, decision making, etc.). This course will introduce students to the foundations of neuropsychology, starting with the historical arc of neuropsychology from Ancient Egypt to the present day, to appreciate that a seemingly widely accepted concept—that the brain gives rise to behavior—was, and in some cultures and groups still is, the topic of many theoretical, philosophical, and spiritual debates. We will also survey the sub-branches of neuropsychology, including clinical neuropsychology (the study of patients with brain damage and illness, as described above); experimental neuropsychology (the study of similarities/variations in behavior among “neurotypical” individuals); and comparative neuropsychology (studies across different species). Insights from patients with brain injuries and illnesses—including individuals studied by leading researchers and physicians in the field such as Paul Broca, Carl Wernicke, Brenda Milner, Antonio Damasio, Oliver Sacks, Lesley Fellows, and others—have, by far, generated the clearest inroads to understanding how the brain works. Throughout the course, students will also explore experimental tools and methods that are still being used today to plumb the depths of the human brain’s most essential functions.

We must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can and guard against the growing into ways that are likely to be disadvantageous to us, as we should guard against the plague. —William James, 1887, Habit

We all want happy lives filled with meaning and satisfaction. Yet, for many of us, happiness can be difficult to obtain with regularity or to sustain over a long period of time. Happiness is more than a feeling; rather, it is a state of well-being that should last a lifetime. Like exercising to improve physical health, it takes sustained cognitive effort to improve our mental health and engage in practices to promote well-being. We can look to evidence from the fields of psychology and neuroscience that tells us that we are mentally unprepared to: (1) predict what will make us happy, and (2) engage in behaviors that are known to make us happier. In this course, we will cover the psychological and brain-based factors for why happiness feels so fleeting and what we can do to build better and more effective habits that have been shown to lead to longer-term maintenance of a positive mood and well-being. Students will read foundational work in the field of positive psychology by Martin Seligman, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Edward Diener, Daniel Kahneman, and others. We will also discuss studies in neuroscience that show how behavioral interventions in positive psychology can impact the brain’s structure and function—just like building stronger muscles during exercise. Through small-group conferences, students will apply evidence-based practices—such as bringing order and organization to their daily lives, expressing gratitude, and building social bonds (i.e., “cross training” for the mind) in activities called “Rewirements.” For the final project, called “Unlearning Yourself,” students will learn to undo or replace a detrimental habit (e.g., overspending, social-media use, poor sleep hygiene, complaining, procrastinating) by establishing a plan to cultivate evidence-based practices for sustained well-being. By the end of this course, students will have gained the ability to sift through the ever-booming literature on positive psychology and neuroscience to identify the practices that work best for them, along with an appreciation for the notion that finding and keeping happiness and well-being requires intentional practice and maintenance. Students should come prepared to engage in meaningful self-work.

We navigate complex social interactions, often unaware of the role that our hormones play in shaping these experiences; nor do we often appreciate the subtle ways that our behaviors can alter our hormones. Through an exploration of the intricate and bidirectional connection between the brain and the body, we will cover the primary functions of specific hormones (e.g., cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, oxytocin, vasopressin); the ways in which hormones can affect social behaviors; and, conversely, the effect that our behaviors and social environments have on hormone release. As part of this work, we will cover a basic overview of the endocrine system; methods for measuring hormones; and the topics of aggression, bonding, trust/empathy, social threat, loneliness, discrimination, and mating/reproduction. Through seminar and conference work, students will apply this knowledge to infer how these interactions between the mind and the body can impact long-term health outcomes under specific social settings/conditions. This course is recommended for students who are seeking specialized training in preparation for postgraduate studies in psychology, neuroscience, public health, public policy, and medical school, as well as for any student with a genuine curiosity to learn more about how the mind and body are deeply and intricately intertwined. It is recommended, but not required, that students take this course in conjunction with the fall semester, intermediate-level seminar offering on psychoneuroimmunology.

Why do we tend to get sick more often when we feel tired or stressed? Can feeling happy reduce the time it takes to heal from physical injuries? How does acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) illness impact the ways we navigate the world (our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and interactions with others)? This semester, we will address these and other questions by examining the intricate and bidirectional connection between the brain and the body through the lens of the immune system. We will consider how adverse emotional states that are triggered by daily stressors, trauma, mental-health disorders, and social determinants of health (e.g., loneliness, social comparison, bullying, and marginalization/discrimination) can impact our physical health and well-being. We will conversely examine the ways in which managing stress, experiencing positive emotions, cultivating warm and positive relationships, and striving for equity and social justice serve as essential “buffers” against acute and chronic stress and poor health outcomes. Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic on the ways in which our psychological states influence our immunity, and vice-versa, will also be discussed. Throughout the semester, in seminar and through conference work, students will also learn about the relevant methodologies that are used to study the connection of and between the brain, mind, and immune system. This course is recommended for students who are seeking specialized training in preparation for postgraduate studies in psychology, neuroscience, public health, public policy, and medical school, as well as for any student with a genuine curiosity to learn more about how the mind and body are deeply and intricately intertwined. It is recommended, but not required, that students take this course in conjunction with the spring semester, intermediate-level seminar offering on psychoneuroendocrinology.

In this research seminar, students will gain valuable experience through a weekly seminar meeting focused on research methods, research ethics, and contemporary research questions and approaches; a weekly lab meeting with one of the faculty members leading the research seminar; and individual and group conference meetings with faculty supervisors on a regular, as-needed basis. The seminar component will include readings on, and discussions of, research methods and ethics—both broad and specific to the research in which students are involved—as well as the discussion of contemporary research articles that are relevant to student and faculty research projects. All faculty and students involved in the research experience will take turns leading the discussion of current research, with faculty taking the lead at the beginning of the semester and students taking the lead as their expertise develops. Weekly lab meetings will also involve reading and discussing research articles and research-methods papers specific to the topics of research being undertaken by each student and faculty member. Students will be expected to learn the current research approaches being employed by their supervising faculty member, contribute toward ongoing research in the form of a research practicum, and develop and implement their own independent research projects within the labs in which they are working. Faculty supervising each lab will also be available to meet with students, both individually and in small groups, on an ongoing basis—as needed and at least every other week—in addition to the regular weekly, hour-long lab meeting. Students participating in the Psychology Advanced Research Seminar will be expected to attend and actively participate in weekly full-group seminars, weekly lab meetings, and regular (typically, at least biweekly) individual and group conference meetings; keep an ongoing journal and/or scientific lab notebook; select and facilitate group and lab discussions of relevant contemporary research articles (at least once for each meeting type); work at least 5 hours within a lab and/or community setting, as appropriate for their projects; contribute toward ongoing research and practice within their lab or community settings; develop, implement, and report on (in the form of a short paper prepared for possible publication and a poster at the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Poster Session) an independent research project; and provide their colleagues with ongoing verbal and written feedback on their projects.

The primary objective of this course is to provide students with additional instruction on professional learning for conducting research in psychology. This seminar will, therefore, be a useful companion to the completion of an independent research project as part of a senior thesis, research seminar, or conference project in psychology or related fields. Students may also develop their own independent research project within this course. Seminars will take place weekly and will be conducted in a workshop format that will allow students to learn about and apply various concepts in research related to open science practices, finding funding/grant writing, collecting and analyzing data, and more. Students participating in the course will also be expected to attend and actively participate in weekly lab meetings; develop an individualized training plan; keep an ongoing journal and/or scientific lab notebook; select and facilitate group and lab discussions of relevant contemporary research articles (at least once for each meeting type); work within a lab and/or community setting, as appropriate for their projects; contribute toward ongoing research and practice within their lab or community settings; develop, implement, and report on (in the form of a short paper prepared for possible publication and a poster at the SciMath Poster Session) an independent research project; and provide their colleagues with ongoing verbal and written feedback on their projects. Students will be responsible for working collaboratively with their colleagues to further develop their understanding of each of the topics covered in class. By the end of the semester, students will be more conversant on, and knowledgeable of, common practices for conducting research in psychology; their work will result in a final project report, be it a thesis, independent study, or other conference project.

No decision that we make is truly simple. We have to account for an infinite number of factors when deciding on something as “simple” as whether to take a left or right turn on the street; e.g., Am I going the right way? Is the crosswalk symbol on? Am I too tired to continue walking? Several areas of the brain must work together to tie all of this information together into a final “action” output: the decision itself. A sub-field of neuroscience, called decision neuroscience or neuroeconomics, has emerged in the past few decades to address key questions about how our brains weigh information such as risk, ambiguity, probability, confidence, and subjective preference (i.e., what we like and don’t like), among other factors, to ultimately form an executable decision. In this course, students will learn about the emotional, social, and cultural factors that drive the decision-making process primarily through readings from psychology and behavioral economics, neuroimaging research in humans, and case studies of patients with damage to areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex (from work by Antonio Damasio and others). We will address the following questions and more: How do we develop subjective preferences (i.e., “liking”) about people, places, and things? Do emotions help us make decisions, or do they get in the way? How can we become better decision-makers and consumers on a daily basis? The answers to these and related questions have led to real-world applications in policy, marketing, finance, and public health, which will also be discussed throughout the course.

Happiness is more than a feeling; rather, it is a state of well-being that should ideally last a lifetime. We all want happy lives filled with meaning and satisfaction. Yet, for many of us, happiness can be hard to obtain with regularity or to sustain over a long period of time. Why is that? We can look to years of evidence from the fields of psychology and neuroscience, which tell us that, on average, we are mentally unprepared to: (1) predict what will make us happy, and (2) engage in behaviors that are known to make us happier. Like exercising to improve physical health, it takes real cognitive effort to overcome these tendencies in order to improve our mental health. This course will cover the psychological and brain-based factors for why happiness feels so fleeting and what we can do to build better and more productive habits that have been shown to lead to longer-term maintenance of positive mood and well-being. Students will read foundational work in the field of positive psychology by Martin Seligman, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Edward Diener, Ilona Boniwell, Daniel Kahneman, and others; and as part of the course assignments, students will apply evidence-based practices, such as bringing order and organization to their daily lives, expressing gratitude, and building social bonds (i.e., “cross training” for the mind). We will also discuss studies in neuroscience that show how behavioral interventions like those and others actually work by altering the brain’s structure and function (just like building stronger muscles after exercising). Related to this, we will explore the neurodevelopmental bases for the peaks and valleys observed in mood during adolescence and early adulthood as critical periods for cultivating evidence-based healthy habits. By the end of this course, students will have gained the ability to sift through the ever-booming literature on positive psychology and neuroscience to find what practices work best for them, as well as an appreciation that deriving and sustaining happiness and well-being requires intentional practice and maintenance.

So many of our decisions, big or small, are influenced by our emotions—at times without our explicit knowledge or conscious awareness of their influence. Becoming aware of our emotions and improving the quality of our emotions (by increasing our overall well-being) may ultimately lead to an improvement in the types of choices that we make on a daily basis. In this FYS, we will explore the relationship between emotions and decisions. During the fall semester, we will read works in popular media, English literature, psychology, and behavioral economics to explore how emotions influence decisions in a variety of contexts, including personal, social/sexual, forensic, financial, and political realms. In the spring, we will approach the relationship between emotions and decisions by looking at the brain areas involved in generating, expressing, and regulating emotions and making decisions, along with the overlap of the brain’s involvement in those processes. Throughout the year, students will meet in biweekly conferences with the instructor and weekly small-group “collaboratives” with their peers that will include creative group activities, writing workshops, book/journal clubs, screenings, guest lectures, and hands-on labs.

Your heart beats faster, your palms sweat, and your pupils dilate—all at once. Is this because you are exercising? Or did someone you really like just enter the room? Psychophysiology is the experimental study of these bodily, or peripheral, signals, which are theorized to be important “read-outs” of a person’s mood (e.g., fear, happiness, anger). In this course, students will gain a foundational understanding of the biological processes that give rise to peripheral autonomic arousal and how these responses are naturally regulated by the brain and body in a process called homeostasis. We will then survey the brain areas that may be responsible for “catching” or incorporating signals from the periphery and ascribing meaning to those signals, which can often happen much later than the time of the event that provoked those bodily responses. We will focus on studies in human neuroimaging, as well as case studies of individuals with brain damage, specifically in brain areas such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (from work by Antonio Damasio and others) and the insula (from work by Sahib Khalsa and others). In so doing, we will discuss major theories of emotion and the mind-body connection, including the James-Lange Theory, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio), and the Neurovisceral Integration Model (Thayer & Lane), among others. Through conference work, students will learn how to measure peripheral markers of arousal (e.g., heart rate, respiration, electrodermal activity to measure sweating, pupillary responses) and relate those signals to emotionally provocative events and brain activity.

Your heart beats faster, your palms sweat, and your pupils dilate—all at once. Is this because you are exercising? Or did someone you really like just walk into the room? Psychophysiology is the experimental study of these bodily, or peripheral, signals, which are thought to be important “read-outs” of a person’s emotional state (e.g., fear, happiness, anger). In this course, students will gain a foundational understanding of the field of psychophysiology, which is the study of the relationship between signals recorded from the body and brain to emotional and cognitive states. In the first third of the semester, we will cover the biological processes that give rise to peripheral autonomic arousal (e.g., heart rate, respiration, electrodermal activity to measure sweating, pupillary responses, brain activity) and how these responses are naturally regulated by the brain and body in a process called homeostasis. We will also survey the brain areas that may be responsible for developing a conscious awareness of, and ascribing meaning to, the signals from the body. We will discuss major theories of emotion and the mind-body connection, including the James-Lange Theory, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio), the Neurovisceral Integration Model (Thayer & Lane), and the Polyvagal Theory (Porges), among others. Through in-class labs and discussions of relevant research papers in the second third of the semester, students will learn how to measure peripheral markers of arousal (e.g., heart rate, respiration, electrodermal activity to measure sweating, pupillary responses) and relate those signals to emotionally provocative events. In the final third of the semester, in their small lab groups, students will oversee seminar discussions on applications of psychophysiology as it relates to a special topic of their choice, including social interactions, sleep and dreaming, marketing and consumerism, psychopathology (mental health), social justice, and more. Through conference work, students will identify a topic of personal interest to explore through the lens of psychophysiology and, after performing a literature review, propose a hypothetical research question that incorporates one or more of the methods that we discuss in class. At the end of the semester, students will present their conference work at the Sarah Lawrence poster symposium.

Why do we eat? What is the function of food? These questions seem simple on the surface, but the many possible answers reveal the complexity of our relationship with food. At its core, food is an essential source of nutrition and sustenance. Beyond that, food can serve as a source of great pleasure, anguish, or both and as a tool for controlling ourselves, our bodies, and our environments. Food choices are shaped by our relationships with others, our culture and upbringing, our emotions, and our bodies. In this broad survey course, students will be exploring concepts ranging from the psychological and biological underpinnings of how we sense and perceive different tastes to how we develop food preferences and eating behaviors in the context of both “normal” and disordered relationships with food. High standards of beauty and mass/social media’s perpetuation of an “ideal” body type are at the forefront of disordered eating behaviors, which will be considered in conjunction with the psychological and biological factors underlying the development of disordered eating behaviors. Global changes in diet and eating habits, the rise in obesity and related health issues, and the sustainability of current food patterns will also be discussed. By examining the attitudes, behaviors, and practices around food choices and eating behaviors, students will learn essential psychological, biological, cultural, and social theories to develop a greater appreciation and awareness of our highly complex relationship with food.