| Affiliations: | College of Sciences |
| Team Leader: |
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| Faculty Mentor: |
Mustapha Mouloua, PhD
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Team Size:
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6 |
| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Team Member Qualifications:
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The willingness to work with an EEG headset (no previous knowledge of how to set one up is required, just openness to the process of setting it up, helping participant put it on, cleaning it, etc.), basic familiarity with research methods in social/behavioral science, willingness to use common research tools (e.g., surveys, data entry platforms, scheduling tools), able to work with others in a group setting, willingness to work with a driving simulator (knowledge of how to work with one is not required), willingness to learn about study and help with tasks regarding EEG, driving simulation, collecting of data, clean data, etc., able to work in-person for when we do have participants sign up to do study and be able to show up at requested time to do study. Required Qualifications: CITI Training Human Subjects Research – Group 2: Social/Behavioral Research Investigators and Key Personnel Research and HIPAA Privacy Protections University Research Authorization Completion and approval of the URA (Undergraduate Research Authorization) form prior to participation. Time Commitment Ability to commit to in-person lab hours as required by the project. Reliable availability throughout the agreed-upon research period. Task Completion & Communication Commitment to completing assigned tasks by set deadlines. Openness to consistent communication with lab leadership and team members (email, shared platforms, meetings). Professional & Ethical Conduct Adherence to ethical standards for human subjects research. Respect for participant confidentiality and data security protocols. Organizational & Collaborative Skills Ability to follow protocols accurately and maintain organized records. Willingness to work collaboratively within a research team and accept feedback. |
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Description:
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Stress responses vary considerably across individuals, yet the neurological mechanisms underlying these differences remain incompletely understood. Research suggests that hemispheric lateralization, the differential activation of left versus right brain hemispheres, plays a critical role in stress processing. Studies have linked left-hemispheric activation to positive affective states and right-hemispheric activation to negative emotions and withdrawal behaviors (Davidson et al., 1990; Hamid et al., 2015). However, conflicting findings indicate the right hemisphere may also process certain positive emotions related to arousal (Cao et al., 2020), highlighting the need for research examining hemispheric activity under ecologically valid stressful conditions. This study investigates hemispheric lateralization patterns during acute stress induced by high cognitive load using a driving simulation. Participants will complete a challenging driving simulation while wearing a wireless EEG to monitor hemispheric activity across frontal, temporal, and parietal regions. Baseline recordings and subjective stress ratings will be collected for comparison. This research addresses a significant gap by examining hemispheric activity during naturalistic cognitive stress rather than passive viewing of emotional stimuli, potentially informing targeted stress-reduction interventions. |