Research

Any activity you do, involves one or many brain networks (or modes). Under Dr. Todd Woodward, I worked on the auditory cognitive mode as a team lead and co-author. In the research chapter I conducted constrained-PCA, performed analysis, and helped explain why some tasks elicited this particular network.

​

Explored the role of the Dynamic Core Network (DCN) in shaping emotional, motivational, and personality-linked mental schemas. Aimed to analyze DCN interactions with these factors using artificial neural networks (ANNs).

Methods: Recruited diverse participants, classified mental schemas, and collected multimodal neuroimaging data (fMRI/EEG/MEG). Analyzed data to train ANNs for schema processing and correlate results with OCEAN personality traits.

Key Research Questions:

1. Do personality differences manifest in DCN activation patterns?

2. Can the ANN model generalize across populations, predicting OCEAN traits in culturally diverse groups?

Research question of our paper: Find a relationship between stress and reading retention.

Procedure: Presenting participants with with written text (Reading speed is not controlled) and focusing on reading retention in 2 conditions: Timer visible, and Timer invisible.

Hypothesis: We predict that the presence of a timer while reading the passage will negatively impact reading retention.

Aim: We tackled the gap in Knowledge in current literature, which is: Many scholars used different operationalizations for terms like stressors and reading retention. (Kiwan et. al, 2020)

Conducted 10+ EEG and tACS experiments, adhering to protocols including participant questionnaires, briefings, and debriefings. Managed a 200+ patient demographic database in SPSS, ensuring accurate data organization. Supported experimental design by performing literature reviews and evaluating oculomotor task paradigms to optimize study frameworks.

This paper argues that external electromagnetic (EM) fields influence biological systems and shape perceptual experiences, providing evidence for the Conscious Electromagnetic Information (CEMI) Field Theory.

Key Argument: Brain-derived EM fields integrate information across regions, forming a unified substrate for consciousness and self-awareness.

Methodology: Used following ideas to show influence/induction on conscious experience using EM fields.

• Magneto-reception: Biological systems (e.g., migratory species) that detect natural EM fields, linking sensory perception to field interactions.

• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): TMS is used to modulate cortical activity, altering conscious states (e.g., memory, attention) to show causal EM effects.

• Olfactory Induction:  Transethmoidal electrical stimulation is used to artificially evoke smell perception, illustrating how EM fields (in this case direct electrical stimulation) directly influence sensory awareness.

These approaches collectively support the CEMI theory by bridging external EM field interactions with conscious perceptual processes.

Using academic literature, my team and I aimed to gain a better understanding on the topic, and present a literature review accordingly. This will only be possible if we look at the topic from a “clean-slate” perspective, having no presuppositions or biases towards a desired outcome. We approached this topic in the two following ways:1) The psychological change felt after a “higher sense of perception” induced during a “trip”.2) The philosophy behind the “higher state of consciousness”.