McNair Scholar 2022 Kelsey Grant
Kelsey Grant is a rising senior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, majoring in psychology with a minor in philosophy. Her research interests include understanding the root causes of psychological disorders and searching for the most effective methods of aiding in psychological healing. Kelsey will receive her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in order to become a clinical psychologist.
My dream is to receive a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and reach my goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. I want to be a private practitioner and author whose work shines a new light on the world of psychology and to create a stepping stone for those who plan to walk the same path.
Research project
Dungeon Flanker Task: The Effects of TDCS Cognitive Training on Working Memory
Abstract: The Eriksen Flanker Task is a task compromised of tests which assess selective attention and inhibitory function. These tests provide a centered target, flanked by one or multiple nontarget stimuli which are categorized as congruent, incongruent, or neutral. Participants are informed to press either left or right arrow keys, dependent on the direction of the target. This study uses the Dungeon Flanker Task, assessing 47 participants by simulating a dungeon game where participants press the corresponding arrows to defeat the monster. Over time, the task becomes more difficult as participants improve in order to increase the selective attention and inhibitory functions. The criterion for improving is based on both increased target accuracy and speed. This study has occasionally seen participants increase in speed but not accuracy, which is not considered to be a functional improvement. Otherwise, when both improvement in speed and accuracy are observed, the study hopes to find an improvement in brain circuitry and plasticity. Through the utilization of the flanker task and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), these tasks seek to create a generalization to novel tasks through increases in thalamocortical functional connectivity. The goal is for this to, in turn, assist with mental health and overall health issues.
Faculty mentor
Angus MacDonald is the Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is the founder of the TRiCAM (Translational Research in Cognitive and Affective Mechanisms) laboratory where he addresses the gap in knowledge between the symptoms of psychopathology and their cognitive and biological processes. Angus began his academic journey in Amherst, MA and received his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh.