Description of Research: The area of my psychological research falls into the sub-specialty of biology called chronobiology: "A science objectively quantifying and investigating mechanisms of biologic time structure, including rhythmic manifestations of life." (Prof. Franz Halberg). The behavioral rhythms I study include daily, monthly, and seasonal cycles (see my list of selected publications). Survey data on large samples are collected for standardization of the published Basic Language Morningness (BALM) rest-activity scale that classifies morning versus evening preferring individuals. Both performance measures and biopotentials are measured and recorded under both free-living and laboratory conditions to validate the items of this scale.

To measure these biopotentials, we have available a 12-channel polygraph recorder in a separate isolation chamber for measuring EEG during napping, portable Mini-Mitter loggers for free-living data collection, miniature voltmeters for recording across-the-head direct-current electrical-potential changes with alertness, as well as stopwatches, tympanic temperature thermistors, and electronic oral thermometers. My masters and doctoral students have studied the relationship of seasonal affective disorder syndrome to sudden infant deaths and infanticides, morningness/ eveningness differences in performance rhythms, and effect of specific wavelengths of light upon melatonin rhythms of the sleep/wake cycles of performance.

Currently we are investigating time estimation differences in morningness/eveningness preferences, and effects of shifted sleep-wake cycles such as in shiftwork. Following graduation of research assistants, we are looking to re-build our research team to a strength of 6-8 students.
 

Undergraduate Research Assistants:

Requirements: Open to students interested in psychology as a neuroscience or applied aspects such as I/O or engineering, who are at least Sophomore or Junior standing with graduate school intentions in psychology, or related areas such as medicine. Also, must have successfully completed Psy 201 and Psy 15 or Stat 200, and be computer literate with standard word processing and statistical packages such as Minitab or SPSS. Because equipment training takes some time, my expectation for a research assistant is to remain in the laboratory for more than one semester.


Course Credit and Other Rewards: Students can earn from 1-6 course credits per semester, although 3 credits is suggested as a part of a research team. Students usually sign up for Psy 296 is for the first semester and for Psy 494 thereafter after having had at least one full semester of laboratory experience. The experience is excellent for learning several ways to collect behavioral and biological -data. Already several students with these laboratory experiences have used them to receive external laboratory fellowships and experiences beyond Penn State, as well as bolster their applications for graduate neuroscience, clinical and experimental psychology, and medical school programs. Two continuing team members already have had significant outside experiences at the Chronobiology Laboratory of the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and at the Walter Reed Army Institute for Research, Silver Spring, Maryland. Several graduated team members are now in medical school, while others have obtained masters and Ph.D. degrees in psychology.

Honors options are available that can become Psy 496 Independent Studies, following at least one full semester in the laboratory.

There is also a work-study position open in the laboratory for handling data and its management, coordinating subject appointments, and managing the laboratory equipment.