Sharlene Newman, Ph.D. - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this proposal is to examine the impact of semantics on syntactic analysis. The experiments described use both behavioral measures and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the interaction between semantic and syntactic processing during sentence comprehension. There are two major aims of the proposal. The first is to obtain a better understanding of how highly familiar, world knowledge influences sentence comprehension processes. The second aim is to determine what aspects of syntactic processing are influenced by semantics. Recently, it has been proposed that syntactic processing occurs in at least two stages and it may be that semantic information has an impact on only one stage. Taken together, the proposed studies are designed to uncover some of the key aspects of semantic and syntactic processing as well as provide a greater understanding of the collaborative nature of these two essential language processes. The proposed experiments use novel experimental designs in order to provide not only a clearer depiction of the behavioral processing but also the underlying neural architecture that supports language. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Marijuana, or Cannabis sativa, is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Increased levels of use occur during adolescence and young adulthood, which is of concern from a public health perspective, since these are also critical periods of neural development. This fear is further underscored by the fact that cannabis may act as a gateway drug, since its use may predispose individuals to abuse other illicit drugs. While it is well known that the active ingredient in cannabis, -9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) causes abnormalities in cognitive functions such as short-term memory and attention, there are a paucity of data examining the effect of cannabis use on the functional state of the cerebellum, a neural timing structure that is replete with cannabinoid receptors. Therefore, the overall aim of the current proposal is to examine whether current cannabis users demonstrate abnormalities in cerebellar-mediated classical eye blink conditioning (EBC) and paced finger tapping. In addition, assessments of the structural correlates of these deficits will be determined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is hypothesized that during the EBC paradigm cannabis users will demonstrate poorer learning performance (less and more poorly timed conditioned responses) as compared to controls. During the paced finger tapping tasks, it is predicted that cannabis users will exhibit increased tapping variability and increased tapping rates. It is also predicted that chronic cannabis users will exhibit decreased cerebellar volumes due to long-term endocannabinoid compensatory mechanisms, and that these volumetric changes will correlate with EBC and paced finger tapping performance. Finally, it is hypothesized that deficits in EBC, paced finger tapping, and cerebellar volume will correlate with the amount and length of cannabis use, including urinary levels of THC metabolites. Taken together, data from these studies will further our understanding of the cannabinoid system, which will help elucidate the mechanism of action of one of the most commonly used drugs of abuse.Project Narrative [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]

Core science departments at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), including Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics, are partnering to implement a spectrum of programs to increase the quantity, quality, and diversity of students earning degrees in the life, physical, and mathematical sciences, and who pursue further education and careers in these fields. The program emphasizes a strong peer support system for students through a community of STEM scholars, emphasizing collaboration and teamwork; engages faculty, with project goals tied to departmental goals; provides a multidisciplinary experience for students, including connections to faculty and students in other STEM disciplines and to professionals outside of academia; engages multiple service units of the university to mentor students at appropriate stages in their learning; assists departments to develop research-based pedagogies that enhance retention; and partners with high-tech employers in the Bloomington area to provide internships. A key component of the program is an estimated 120 scholarships provided to participating students. Both formative and summative evaluations of the impact and effectiveness of the program guide program implementation to meet the program's goals to retain and graduate STEM majors. Lessons learned from this program are being shared with other IUB programs and through presentation at national and disciplinary meetings. By retaining college STEM majors and by increasing the pool of students who choose to start in a STEM major, this project is contributing to the numbers, diversity, and preparedness of the nation's science workforce.

This award permits the University of Alabama to acquire a 3.0 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system. Establishing an MRI research facility at UA will be a significant new direction in human neuroscience research at UA as well as allow for collaboration with other institutions on large multi-site projects. A neuroimaging facility at UA will provide a much-needed boost to the neuroscience initiatives (e.g., graduate research in neuroscience, undergraduate neuroscience minor, undergraduate and graduate programs in educational neuroscience) at UA. The 3.0T MRI system will have a lasting impact on the field beyond the specific projects that will be initially supported and advanced. Most importantly, sharing a critical research tool like the MRI scanner creates a platform to accelerate conceptual and methodological development across neuroimaging laboratories, capitalizing on the exceptional pool of talent available at UA and other universities in the region. Building a neuroimaging research environment will be a catalyst for training undergraduate and graduate students interested in neuroscience research, including women and underrepresented minority students. This will also provide opportunities for training students from historically black colleges nearby, such as Stillman College and other such universities in the state of Alabama. Establishing a neuroimaging environment at UA will, in addition to facilitating neuroscience research, provide opportunities for the surrounding rural communities to participate in research as well as students from rural areas in Alabama.

The proposed MRI system will stimulate interdisciplinary collaborative research projects at the basic and translational levels at UA. The following research projects at UA will utilize the MRI system: 1) Multiscale neural processing and the neurobiology of language processing and reading comprehension in healthy individuals and in disorders; 2) Developing brain algorithms to improve natural language processing; 3) Neurobiological bases of mathematical cognition, with specific emphasis on embodiment of number and arithmetic; 4) Examining the cognitive and neural changes associated with healthy aging, memory and attention; 5) Investigating lifetime stress, brain aging, and the racial differences underlying brain aging; 6) Biomedical imaging analysis and development of shape-controlled magnetic nanoparticles for MRI; and 7) Developmental neurobiology of social brain in healthy individuals and in disorders. The MRI system will enhance the collaboration across different schools, colleges and departments at UA, including Psychology, Education, Communicative Disorders, Biological Sciences, and Engineering.

This project is jointly funded by the Major Research Instrumentation Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.