Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Hsin-Yeh Tsai

Dysregulated affect in functional magnetic resonance imaging for clinical neuroscience

While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful tool for clinical neuroscience research, the fMRI scanner is an unnatural and stressful environment that may amplify dysregulated mood or affect; for example, discomfort can result in movement and unwanted motion artifacts in the brain images. This summer, I will be delving into scan data processing techniques and investigating how the scan subject’s underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood can impact the scan results. I hope this project can inform us of methods for better preparing subjects for fMRI scans in order to acquire more precise brain imaging data in clinical neuroscience and perhaps in fMRI research more broadly.

Message To Sponsor

Thank you for supporting my research this summer! I've gained incredible insights into clinical neuroscience and this project has helped me solidify my aspiration to work in this field in the future. I deeply appreciate your generosity in helping students like me pursue their passions in research.