Thesis Christ: Subin Lee on Neuromodulation and Cognitive Control
Subin Lee is a Neuroscience major who performed a study on neuromodulation and cognitive control. Having participated in this study, it was quite interesting to hear about her process and to understand the reason behind why I was clicking the ‘C’ and ‘M’ keys over and over again.
What is your thesis about, generally?
In one word, attention; in two words cognitive control; in three words, functional oscillatory activity. The idea of the study is to provide more information on a theory for cognitive control. This theory details how one’s focus shifts from place to place, as well as the splits between control over memory and active attention.
All brain activity is controlled by oscillatory electrical signals, particularly the higher cortical functions, which are understood as (1) anticipatory, and (2) reactive, and then the behavioral updates which follow naturally. The question is whether and how there is functional oscillatory activity between the two, and whether these oscillations can be modulated (changed) by external stimuli (a flashing light).
Lee really wanted to use the electroencephalogram (EEG) in the Psychology building (a tool which not many undergraduates have access to), and decided on a long term study in order to normalize results from participants (that is, perform multiple tests per person). Participants were asked to come in a total of three times so that Lee could get inter-patient data under a variety of conditions. Participants were given a sort of reaction/attention control test, and then exposed to one of three different settings of a ‘flicker’, from a flashing light box. The idea is that the flashing light frequency has some impact on the frequency of brain signals, but it’s not entirely clear what this relationship is.
Trying to alter the functions of the brain by external stimuli is a process widely studied in neuroscience. The Rapid Visual Stimulation (RVS) Lee worked with is just one (relatively new) approach. Another method Lee brought up is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (shooting magnetic fields into your brain), which is seen as a promising treatment for pharmaceutical resistant depression.
Lee also included some questions about sleep in a brief survey administered before each test. It’s widely acknowledged that the amount and quality of sleep an individual gets is strongly linked to executive function. Sleep has a high comorbidity rate with various medical conditions, which (more or less) means, according to Lee, that for “all the bad conditions you can think of, [bad sleep] is there as a symptom or cause.” Lee was very personally interested in knowing how sleep affected the relationship she was studying, and so she included it as a part of their survey even though her thesis advisor didn’t necessarily see how it was relevant.
What got you inspired in this? Was it a hobby / interest, what’s a little bit about you?
Lee took a class with her thesis advisor and really liked his vibe. “I could tell that he was more encouraging than rigorous and scary.” she said. He did research on the RVS and schizophrenia, which was somewhat intriguing to her. Lee then did some research over the summer on the same using the EEG, which really locked it in for her.
What has the process been like for you, logistically and on a large scale?
For Lee, it was quite a fun process overall. There was a lot of literature review (her five page bibliography was just submitted!), as well as application of new interdisciplinary skills. In order to work with the EEG and understand the results, she had to learn Python and did some reading on the Fourier and Laplace transformations.
The process also involved a lot of collaboration with her thesis group (everybody under one’s thesis advisor), which was a great way to get feedback and a way to find blind spots.
What was the wackiest thing you took away from your thesis?
“Honestly just the fact that your brain is full of electrical oscillations, and that we can kind of read your mind by reading these signals. It really sounds like some sort of tin-foil hat conspiracy theory, but it’s true. For example, deficiency in alpha waves is a reliable predictor of whether you have ADHD,.”
Any advice for thesising, or soon to be thesising students?
Lee recommends taking a lighter course load if you can. She said, “I hope that people can give themselves enough time to enjoy doing their thesis.”
Additionally, you should choose your thesis advisor very wisely. When you sit down and have preliminary discussions with them, “It’s one of those things where you’re not interviewing for them, they’re interviewing for you. They need to be able to accommodate your preferences (not needs).”