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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Talk About Stress at Next Psychology Graduate Research Series Event, Feb. 13
The next talk in the Psychology Graduate Research Series, co-hosted by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences and NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies (CPS), will feature presentations on research conducted by two students in the college’s M.S. in Experimental Psychology program.
Psychology Graduate Research Series
Presentations by Brittney Tamayo and Rima Alomari
Wednesday, Feb. 13
Noon–1:00 p.m.
Parker Building | Room 338
About the Research
“The Impact of Stress on Sustained Attention: Does Cortisol Actually Hurt Performance?”
By Brittney Tamayo | Faculty Adviser: Jonathan Banks, Ph.D., assistant professor at the college
In humans, stress has a negative impact on a variety of factors, such as cognitive performance and physical and psychological health. Cortisol has been said to be responsible for these negative consequences. This study examined three possible mechanisms related to the impact of stress on sustained attention, including cortisol, alpha amylase, and mind wandering. The results suggest that the role of cortisol in physical- and social-evaluative stressors may not be as clear as once believed.
“The Effects of Acute Stress on a Neurophysiological Measure of Emotion Processing”
By Rima Alomari | Faculty Adviser: Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of psychology research at the college
In response to an acute stress, organisms activate a fight-or-flight response to either attack or escape threatening stimuli. However, the extent to which this response alters emotion processing is not well known. This study tested the neural effects of acute stress on a neurophysiological maker of emotional-picture processing. Results suggest that when cortisol is at its peak level, there is a blunted neural response to emotional pictures compared to non-emotional pictures.
The Psychology Graduate Research Series is free and open to the public. Pizza will be served. For more information, contact Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., , or Sarah Valley-Gray, Psy.D.