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Beatrix Culligan, BA'26, took her honours research beyond the classroom, expanding her academic horizons and connecting with researchers from around the world at the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society in Vancouver, BC.

 

Culligan presented her research alongside Psychology professor Dr. Doris Chow.

 

“It was exciting to present our work and learn from researchers whose studies are helping shape our understanding of how the brain processes information,” said Culligan. 

 

“I was able to learn about so many different topics that I’m passionate about, as well as meet leading researchers in the field.”

 

Culligan and Dr. Chow's research investigated a phenomenon known as "pursuit inhibition," the drop in eye velocity that occurs in response to a distractor. Their findings suggest that this response is automatic and is not affected by the demands placed on a person's memory.

 

"Our work shows that this 'slowing' behaviour is relatively immune to the cognitive states of participants, whether they were tasked to remember a lot or not so much," said Dr. Chow.

 

"It may provide a window into how an individual brain processes and responds to distractors in their environment, with further applications in health and education."

 

Building Research Skills at STU

 

Culligan completed the research as part of her Honours degree in Psychology.

 

"Working with Dr. Chow has been one of the highlights of my time at STU, and I’ve developed research skills that will help prepare me for future endeavours,” said Culligan. 

 

Dr. Chow praised Culligan’s contributions to the project and her development as a researcher.

 

“It takes bravery to tackle a project like this as an undergraduate researcher, and Beatrix did a great job at every step,” said Dr. Chow.

 

“Her enthusiasm and emerging skills helped push this project forward. With her help this summer, we hope to complete a draft of the manuscript for publication.”

 

Culligan will begin a Master of Science in Experimental Psychology at Western University next year, where she will be studying language and reading development in children, with a focus on reading impairments such as dyslexia.

 

“I’m really looking forward to this next step in my academic career and would not have been able to achieve this if it wasn’t for my time and experiences I gained at STU,” she said.

 

 

Student researchers who contributed to this project:

 

Serena Bunin, BA'24

Gavin Woodward, BA'25

Gursimran Kaur and Mishael Robinson, expected graduation BA'27

 

The research team is grateful for support from the Harrison McCain Research Grant, Harrison McCain Student Research Internship Funds, the Student Work Placement Program (JOBS), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada's Undergraduate Student Research Awards (NSERC USRA), and the NSERC Discovery Grant.