Past Events

Dr. Declan Smithies and his graduate student Preston Lennon gave a lecture about the concepts of rationality and delusions, concluding the talk with a discussion of a case study about an individual severely affected by such delusions.

OSU professor of linguistics Dr. Micha Elsner presented to the club some of his previous research concerning the connections between language and visual search in a study using old “Where’s Wally (Waldo)?” puzzles.

Graduate student and member of Ohio State’s SLAM Lab Matthew Heard presented his current topic of research to the club: the possibility of using music therapy to help elderly patients recover their ability to discern speech in the presence of background noise.

Professor and cognitive scientist Dr. Alexander Petrov introduced students to the many roles the basal ganglia perform within our brains, from controlling our motor movements to making abstract decisions. To learn more about the basal ganglia and the topics discussed, you can read this research paper.

Cognitive Science Club adviser Dr. Andrew Leber once again gave an engaging talk introducing students to the study of cognitive science, touching on his own background and the opportunities the field presents.

Dr. Yune Lee from the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences gave an introductory talk on neuroimaging and how the brain processes music. The club was then given a tour of OSU’s Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging fMRI facility. His presentation slides can be found here.

The Cognitive Science Club, along with the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, co-sponsored OSU’s annual CogFest event, which included a screening of the 2004 film The Final Cut, an engaging panel discussion about the movie with both academics and industry professionals, and a delicious dinner to cap off the event. Learn more about CogFest here.

Dr. Leslie Newman of Ohio State’s College of Pharmacy gave an engaging talk on the effects of medical and recreational usage of marijuana on the brain, capping the talk off with fascinating insights that current (but limited) research is uncovering about the substance. Check out her slide deck here.

Professor Brian Siefke came and presented various topics related to memory and cognition, including working memory and the effects of sleep, stress, and alcohol on memory performance. He also touched on how students can improve their studying habits. You can find his presentation here.

Mathematics graduate student Fernando Venegas presented to the club some of his research and how mathematics can be viewed as a type of cognitive science. Furthermore he considered the question: can consciousness be simulated in a computer? His presentation can be found here

For our first event ever, Cognitive Science Club adviser Dr. Andrew Leber gave the club a great introduction to the field of cognitive science, as well as provided background into his research and opportunities to get more involved in cognitive science at the university.