Skills, Resources, and Equipment

Labs in our Experimental Training Program study topics including memory, cognitive control, emotion, stress, language comprehension, attention, creativity, and risky drinking behavior. Students have an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of methodologies, including electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (e.g., MRI, fMRI, DTI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), assessment of psychophysiological indicators (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance, EMG), eye tracking, virtual reality, and computational modeling. Additionally, the psychology department has its own wet lab, where students learn to process saliva and blood samples, as well as conduct their own enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to examine various aspects of people’s physiological states (e.g., cortisol, cytokines, testosterone, estradiol, etc.). Research also incorporates experimental manipulations, such as psychosocial stress manipulations, mindfulness inductions, and the administration of carbon-dioxide-enriched air to elevate panic-relevant somatic arousal.

Faculty have extensive connections within the community and other institutions. For example, some labs partner with schools and art museums (e.g., Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art), as well as medical clinics at the Pat Walker Health Center and UAMS-Northwest.

The UA recently received $194.7M in funding for its development of the state-of-the-art Integrative and Innovative Research (I3R) initiative, which is a collaborative framework designed to facilitate integrative research across five clusters: Integrative systems neuroscience, data science, food and technology, materials science and engineering, and bioscience & bioengineering research in metabolism. The goal is to facilitate state of the art collaborations across all clusters. The development of I3R will bring new neuroscience colleagues, collaborations, and an MRI scanner to the UA campus.