PBS Update

The 2014 alumni recognition symposia and banquet New grant for study of marijuana and brain connectivity Network science at home and abroad Early language skills linked to behavior problems

winter 2014 Quarterly Newsletter WINTER 2014

Look no further The 2014 alumni PBS Update recognition event in this issue: n Friday, October 17th PBS pressed ‘pause’ on business as usual in order to press ‘play’ on its annual Alumni 3 The 2014 alumni recognition event 11 Networking Russia ORecognition Event, fittingly in sync with other IU On October 17 students, alumni, friends and faculty Stanley Wasserman, in collaboration with faculty Homecoming festivities. came together for our annual symposia and banquet from the National Research University Higher The event: A daylong celebration of the extraordinary people and School of Economics in Russia, is setting up an the formidable, game-changing science that has propelled mem- bers of this community into occupations both in and beyond the 5 Alumni in the spotlight International Laboratory for Applied Network academic and scientific worlds. Five outstanding alumni were honored with a series Research The people and the science were brought into focus through a of awards series of alumni and faculty symposia and a late-afternoon poster 12 Introducing “An InExact Science” session exhibiting the work of current students. The evening’s 6 In the News Alumni Lisa Cantrell’s new podcast explores banquet capped the day and allowed for full visibility of some basic questions of psychological science—and the truly remarkable alumni and the PBS community-at-large. 7 Shiffrin receives President’s mysteries of everyday human experience—through “Homecoming and alumni recognition events like this allow us beautifully designed sonic landscapes to reflect on the shoulders we stand on and the broader context Medal on which we as a department have an effect,” said PBS Chair On October 14 IU President Michael McRobbie Bill Hetrick in introducing the award recipients. “They also let us presented the President’s Medal of Excellence to 13 From language to behavior understand how our students are moving beyond our influence. A recent study suggests that poor early language It’s humbling to be a part of this expanding influence through Richard Shiffrin skills can lead to behavior and problems our alumni.” which can in turn contribute to social or academic In evidence throughout was the bold, boundary-crossing science 8 Up in smoke characteristic of PBS from the start: the kind of science that problems in adolescence and later, adulthood. PBS researchers were awarded a $275,000 grant breaks new ground and addresses pressing social issues: in young to study brain connectivity in current and former alumni award winner Amy Marshall’s studies on PTSD and marijuana users. 15 Keep the momentum going social support, and fellow young alumni award-winner Brian We enlist your help in sustaining our future while Mustanski’s research on increasing rates of HIV in young black supporting your interests gay men; in the work of alumni Teresa Treat bearing on the rape 10 Cognitive training to treat crisis on college campuses; in PBS professor Karin James work on the cognitive neuroscience of reading and writing at a time when alcoholism? US illiteracy rates are as high as 20%; in alumni Scott Gronlund’s Peter Finn received a $2.3 million NIH grant to study research on legal methods used to identify suspects; in alumni the use of cognitive training techniques to improve Joshua Gulley’s studies of amphetamine effects on adolescent de- decision-making related to alcohol consumption velopment; and PBS professor Brian D’Onofrio’s uses of big data to understand major mental health issues: Do ADHD medica- tions increase the risk of suicide? Does paternal age increase the risk of psychiatric problems in offspring? The list of course goes on. “I drank the Kool-Aid of translational research while at IU,” Writing/Editing: Liz Rosdeitcher and IU Communications said Mustanski (PhD ’04), now a professor at Northwestern on Layout: Jenny El-Shamy accepting the young alumni award, recounting how PBS enabled him to cross the borders between traditionally distinct fields of Photos: Scott Scheetz and Maximillian Tortoriello sexuality, behavior, genetics, and health. “Over the years,” he Cover Photo: photo by Scott Scheetz; pictured here: Alumni Amy Marshall (PhD ’04) at the Alumni Recognition Banquet

psych.indiana.edu 3 said, “I’ve had a series of consistent epiphanies about how well things are done here.” Alumni in Or as alumna and University of Iowa professor Teresa Treat (BA ’91 PhD ’00), explained in her talk, it was here at IU that she began to combine cognitive and clinical science as a student the spotlight of PBS professor Rick Viken with whom she now collaborates on research into men’s cognitive processing of women’s sexual interest. The PBS Alumni Recognition event For some the path was easy to trace. For others, not as much. culminates in a banquet to honor five “The template of who I am was formed at IU,” said Dave outstanding alumni with a series of awards. Pfenninger on accepting the distinguished alumni award. Yet, as PBS professor Jack Bates mused in his introduction, the course This year the following alumni received of Pfenninger’s career was not so easy to foresee. A PBS under- awards: graduate major, Pfenninger helped usher in an era of web-based Young alumni award Distinguished alumni award psychological testing used by major corporations and government my Marshall (PhD ’04) and Brian Mustanski (PhD recipient Brian Mustanski recipient Wilson (Bill) agencies. A’04) each received a Young Alumni Award. with PBS chair Bill Hetrick Geisler with Gail Geisler “It’s not clear we could have predicted that,” Bates adds. “Yet, Marshall is an associate professor in the Department looking back, it’s rewarding.” of at Pennsylvania State University whose research interests include intimate relationships, family And though he could not be present at the event, the winner violence, and post-traumatic stress disorder. of the Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award, John Monahan sketched out in a note the PBS legacy he took with him 42 years Mustanski is an associate professor in Medical Social ago. In addition to his PhD and the best possible education, Sciences, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and “I carried with me three other things,” he wrote, “less clearly Psychology at Northwestern University. He is director of defined at the time, but ultimately much more important: a thor- the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program, oughly Midwestern work ethic, a strong intellectual open-mind- which seeks to conduct translational research that improves edness, and a firm ambition to strive for academic excellence.” the health of the LGBT community and increases under- standing of sexual orientation and gender identity. “We have the illusion that we see the visual world rather clearly,” Rich Shiffrin reflected on introducing PBS distinguished alumni Receiving Distinguished Alumni Awards were David award-winner Bill Geisler. “But we only see a small part, and T. Pfenninger (BA ’83) and Wilson (Bill) Geisler (PhD things fall away rather quickly as you move away from the center ’75). of fixation. Yet,” he explained, “Bill’s been able to work out what Pfenninger’s career spans academia, clinical psychology, an ideal search pattern would be.” Richard C. Atkinson lifetime Professor Amy Holtzworth- business, and technology. Formerly an assistant profes- achievement award recipient Munroe with young alumni Perhaps something similar occurred at this event and another sor at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a John Monahan award recipient Amy kind of search pattern was found, when for a fleeting moment clinician and administrator at the Roudebush Veteran Marshall on October 17, the department and its legacy came into sharper Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis, he be- focus. came the founder and key entrepreneur of several success- ful companies. Currently, he is an executive consultant, investor, and board member to companies at the interface of internet technology, human behavior, and cognition. Geisler joined the psychology faculty at the University of Look no further! Be a part of the celebrations next Texas in 1975, where he is currently the David Wechsler Regents Chair and director of the Center for Perceptual year. Mark your calendars for Friday, October 16, Systems. Bill’s primary research interests are in perception 2015. We’d also love to hear your suggestions on and perceptual neuroscience, with an emphasis on vision in humans and monkeys. alumni who might be eligible for our awards. John Monahan (PhD ’72) received the Richard C. If you know someone you’d like to nominate Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award (including yourself), let us know. Send your Monahan, an expert in law and psychiatry, is a lead- suggestion to [email protected]. ing thinker on the issue of violence risk assessment. He currently holds the John S. Shannon Distinguished Distinguished alumni award Graduate student poster Professorship in Law at the University of Virginia. Last recipient David Pfenninger contest winner, Caroline year he attended the department’s 125th Anniversary Hoyniak, with Professor Jack Bates Celebration to deliver a lecture, “Danger and Disorder,” in which he challenged the links made between violence and mental illness in American media and culture. The award is named in honor of its first alumni recipient, president emeritus of the University of California and a distin- guished scientist, administrator, and teacher.

4 psych.indiana.edu psych.indiana.edu 5 Alumni symposium speakers Scott Gronlund, Faculty symposium speakers Joshua Brown, Teresa Treat and Joshua Gulley Karin James and Brian D’Onofrio

caption positions here PBS in the news Shiffrin receives

laf Sporns was named the Robert H. Shaffer Endowed Anagin, a company developed by PBS senior scientist Yvonne President’s Medal Chair. This endowed chair honors Robert H. Shaffer, who Lai and IU School of Medicine professor Anantha Shekhar, and Owas a distinguished faculty member and Dean of Students launched to develop a new treatment for PTSD, won the third an- longstanding efforts to develop explicit models of human memo- at IU. The $1 million endowment was established by the College nual BioCrossroads New Venture Competition. Read more about n October 14, IU President Michael A. McRobbie presented ry, especially the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, which has been called Class of 1967 on the occasion of their 40th graduation anniversary. the company and the competition here. the President’s Medal for Excellence to two highly distin- Oguished IU faculty members, George Kuh and Richard one of the most significant advances in the study of since Sporns was also named co-director of the new IU Network Peter Todd received the Excellence in Leadership Award from the Shiffrin. William James.” Institute. Read more about this new initiative. IU Office of Sustainability for his activities on the advisory com- Shiffrin is Distinguished Professor and Luther Dana Waterman Shiffrin’s subsequent discoveries have also been groundbreaking. mittee of the fall 2014 Themester initiative, “Eat, Drink, Think: Sharlene Newman was selected as a 2014-15 fellow for the Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College In 1977, he and Walter Schneider proposed a theory of attention Food from Art to Science.” Read more about it here. Academic Leadership Program, which helps develop leader- of Arts and Sciences. Widely known for his contributions to that divided automatic from control processes and showed how ship skills of professors who are strong candidates for pursuing A film crew from NFL Films came to shoot a segment on Ben , he also directs the department’s Memory and processes could become automatic through mapping. He helped careers in academic administration. The program is sponsored Motz’s Critical Approaches class, “Prediction, Probability, and Perception Laboratory. create the Search of Associative Memory model in the 1980s and by the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, made up of Pigskin.” The feature aired in the fall season of “NFL Films the Retrieving Effectively From Memory model in the 1990s. “Professors Kuh and Shiffrin have made enormous and legendary the universities in the Big Ten conference and the University of Presents” on Fox Sports. contributions to their respective fields,” McRobbie said. “Both At IU, he has served as advisor for many students and postdoc- Chicago. Participants attend three seminars hosted by Committee Isaac Petersen was interviewed for an NIH podcast, as well as have dedicated themselves to the great spirit of education and toral researchers, some of whom serve on the faculties of lead- on Institutional Cooperation institutions and take part in cam- the Kids Count Radio Show, for his study with Jack Bates and scholarship that extends far beyond the walls of the academy, and ing universities or as scientists for NASA, IBM, Microsoft and pus-based meetings with administrative leaders. Read more here. Angela Staples on the link between language skills and behavior both have received many honors and awards for their work. I am the US Army Research Institute. He co-chaired the Alliance of Tom Busey was appointed to the new National Institute of problems. The story also appeared in the Epoch Times, the Daily very pleased to be able to add to those honors.” Distinguished and Titled Professors, served on the committee to Standards and Technology commission for forensic sciences, an Mail and Education Week, among other news sources. form the School of Informatics, helped establish the Department The President’s Medal for Excellence is the highest honor an IU agency of the US Department of Commerce. He sits on the phys- of Statistics and was instrumental in establishing IU’s Cognitive Ken Mackie is cited in an article in Al Jazeera America, “Can president can bestow. First presented in 1985, it is awarded to those ics/pattern panel. Read more about the new commission. Science Program. medical marijuana solve our opioid addiction problem?” who have distinguished themselves in academia or public service. Mike Jones received the Psychonomic Society 2014 Early Career He has also received many major awards in the field of psycholo- Shiffrin joined the IU faculty after graduating from Stanford Award. He also became editor of the Psychonomic Society journal gy, including the Warren Medal of the Society for Experimental University, where he and Richard Atkinson developed the Behavior Research Methods. Psychology, the William James Fellow Award and the David Atkinson-Shiffrin model, giving a mathematical basis for a theory E. Rumelhart Prize for Formal Modeling of Human Cognition, Jonathon Crystal was named editor of the Psychonomic Society of memory for the first time. Their article is one of the most highly known as the “Nobel Prize of Cognitive Science.” journal Learning & Behavior. cited in the history of the behavioral sciences. The President’s Medal for Excellence is a reproduction in silver of “Professor Shiffrin has made numerous contributions to the the symbolic jewel of office worn by IU’s president at ceremonial modeling of human cognition in areas ranging from perception to occasions. attention to learning,” McRobbie said. “He is also known for his

6 psych.indiana.edu psych.indiana.edu 7 “Given the recent decriminalization of marijuana in several states and its widespread use, there is an urgent need to determine how marijuana affects the brain, and whether such changes are related to those observed in psychotic disorders.”

learning and memory, and are present in the cerebellum, which is critical for coordination of movement and involved in our percep- Up in smoke tion of time.” Cannabis is also unlike other drugs such as opiates, nicotine and BS researchers were awarded a $275,000 grant from the cocaine, which are highly addictive and which reshape the brain to National Institutes of Health to study the effects of marijuana seek out more of the drug. Pon brain connectivity in both current and former users. “While many drugs rapidly decay and leave your system, cannabis Led by professor Brian O’Donnell and associate professor Sharlene stays in your body for weeks, so that, even though you may not feel Newman, the study will analyze how marijuana use affects both high for more than a few hours, some of the physiological effects brain networks and specific regions. It will be the first study to are still present,” O’Donnell said. apply network analysis to understand changes in brain connectivi- The researchers are now getting ready to recruit three groups of 30 ty related to current and past marijuana use. people, ages 18 to 40, to participate in the study. One group will Brian O’Donnell | Photo by Indiana University The researchers will pursue a number of questions, including how include current users. Another group will include those who have its use might alter the course of brain development in adolescence used it in the past but have quit for at least a year. The third will and early adulthood; whether earlier use would cause more severe consist of people who have never used cannabis. The challenge will effects; how much is too much for particular age groups; and be finding people who smoke marijuana but don’t use any other whether discontinuing use allows for recovery. drugs or drink heavily. Participants must also be without serious “Given the recent decriminalization of marijuana in several states mental illness or incidence of head trauma. and its widespread use, there is an urgent need to determine how In addition to using brain-imaging technology to explore the orga- marijuana affects the brain, and whether such changes are related nization of brain networks, the researchers will give the candidates to those observed in psychotic disorders,” O’Donnell said. various tests of memory and attention. They will also interview Cannabis sativa (marijuana), which according to surveys has candidates about how much and how long they took marijuana been used by more than 30 percent of the adult population in the and test them for personality traits that often accompany its use, United States, is known to affect several aspects of mental func- such as unusual beliefs and odd perceptions, which are often seen tioning, including attention, learning and judgment of time. It can in psychotic disorders. also induce symptoms typical of psychosis, such as paranoia and O’Donnell said the project offers a unique opportunity to bring sensory distortions. together “an extraordinary group of researchers to address a public Studies across a number of countries have also found that ad- health problem of enormous importance, given the widespread use olescents who use cannabis are at a higher risk of developing of cannabis and the trend toward legalization in many states.” schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder, later in life. O’Donnell, a In addition to Sporns, researchers include IU neuroscientist Ken schizophrenia researcher, suggests that while scientists don’t The brain’s communication pathways can be traced using diffusion Mackie, a consultant on the project who has done fundamen- know if it directly causes schizophrenia, for those with a genetic tensor MRI and fiber tractography (shown in the right part of the tal research into the brain systems on which cannabis acts. Also risk for this illness, cannabis may contribute to its occurrence. He figure). Connections from different parts of the brain construct the on the team are brain-imaging experts, Dai-Jin Kim, Aina Puce points out that more than 40 percent of schizophrenia patients use brain network with a number of nodes and edges (left). So far, many and Newman, who is also co-principal investigator, as well as cannabis. forms of brain dysfunction have been conceptualized as network William Hetrick, a schizophrenia researcher and chair of the IU diseases. This study will determine how past and current cannabis use Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. The study will A pilot study published by O’Donnell and Newman’s research affects brain network characteristics when compared to no use. be funded for two years. group indicated that brain networks in people who used marijuana | Photo by Indiana University were less efficiently organized than those in non-users. Yet, “the “There’s a popular perception that marijuana is a relatively benign effect of cannabis on the organization of the brain is still little un- drug,” O’Donnell said. “My guess is that this may not be the case.” derstood,” O’Donnell said. In part, he said, this is because of the are necessary for nearly all, even the simplest, physical and mental difficulty of studying an illegal substance classified as a narcotic. tasks. The research team includes IU computational neuroscientist Olaf Cannabis affects several brain functions, including pain perception Sporns, whose pioneering work on brain network analysis helps and our sense of time, as well as learning and memory, O’Donnell conceptualize the interaction between different parts of the brain. said. As such, it has a wide-ranging effect on the brain, especially The current project will draw on the measures Sporns has devel- as these systems develop. oped to look at network properties as a whole and the pathways “We know from other studies where the cells that respond to Sharlene Newman | Photo by Indiana University that connect the nodes within the neural systems under investi- cannabis are located in the brain, so we can zero in on a region gation. As Sporns’ research shows, networks that facilitate the that has a high density of these receptors,” O’Donnell said. “They interaction and exchange of information between brain regions are dense, for example, in the hippocampus, which is involved in

8 psych.indiana.edu psych.indiana.edu 9 Cognitive training Networking to treat alcoholism? Russia

linical Peter Finn received a $2.3 million grant U network researcher Stanley Wasserman in collaboration with from the National Institutes of Health to study the use of “ reflects a kind of faculty from the National Research University Higher School Ccognitive training techniques to reduce risky or impulsive Iof Economics (NRU HSE) in Russia received a $1.5 million decision-making in those with early-onset alcoholism and a histo- memory-attention interaction, which grant to set up an International Laboratory for Applied Network ry of impulsive, antisocial behavior. Research at the Russian university. The study will focus on the role of working memory in deci- enables us to control our attention, to focus sion-making related to alcohol consumption and on determining The grant, which was awarded by the HSE, provides funding from whether cognitive training, which consists of methods for focus- on a particular topic, shift our attention 2014 to 2016, at which point, Wasserman believes, the lab, given ing one’s attention, can improve working memory and thereby its strengths, will continue to gain support, with either additional enhance decision-making abilities. away and shift it back at will.” funding from the university or external grants. Quite a few net- work science institutes now operate at universities in the US. This Stanley Wasserman “Working memory reflects a kind of memory-attention inter- is the first one in Russia. action, which enables us to control our attention, to focus on a The lab also has several partnerships and joint research projects particular topic, shift our attention away and shift it back at will,” Wasserman, who holds a joint appointment in the departments with other centers for network analysis in the United States. An said Finn, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain of Statistics and Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College international conference, organized by the lab, with invited work- Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “Our work shows of Arts and Sciences, will serve as the academic supervisor for shops, is planned for November 2014. that there’s a common vulnerability to substance use disorders, the lab—consulting, teaching, and collaborating with faculty and ADHD and antisocial personality disorder. All are associated students at the school and ensuring the lab’s connectedness with Among some of the current research are studies of student aca- with similar problems with impulsive and risky decision-making the broader world of network science. He has also been named a demic achievement as a function of social networks, studies on the and a low working memory capacity.” Research Professor at HSE. relationships between companies and their subsidiaries, studies of In recent years, cognitive training techniques have become widely public health, and studies of current and historical political and used as interventions for a variety of psychiatric conditions such As a leading methodologist in the field of network analysis, social movements in Russia and the U.S. as ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, antisocial personality, Wasserman designs studies and analyzes data for researchers memory loss and major depression. Yet little well-controlled re- around the world in such varied areas as management, community Wasserman notes that changes in Russia and the Russian economy search has been done to support its effectiveness, Finn said. psychology, and public health. He is also the coordinating editor over the last 20 years have sparked new interests. “Until recently of Network Science, a major new journal in the field published by there was no need for a faculty of management in Russia. Now The new study is not a clinical trial, Finn explains, but it has enor- Cambridge University Press. His book “Social Network Analysis: mous potential to affect future treatment. there are big companies and a need for savvy managers. One of Methods and Applications” is a classic in the field, still in print my colleagues studies the energy industry, for example. Russia “It will also have direct implications for the development and re- after almost 20 years, and widely used in university courses. His supplies most of Europe with oil and natural gas. She looks at how finement of training programs to focus attention, modify impul- work has also contributed to putting Indiana University on the energy companies interact with each other and their subsidiaries.” sive, risky decision-making in those with alcohol dependence and leading edge of advancements in the field itself. He was one of externalizing psychopathology in general, and for understanding the first network scientists at IU, and through conference grants, Over the last twenty years network analysis has become wide- the factors that may predict the positive impact of these programs collaborations, and teaching, he continues to be an important net- spread across Europe. The first European conference on network on impulsivity in those with alcohol dependence and antisocial work research presence on campus. research was in Barcelona in July 2014. In the 21st century, glo- behavior in general,” he said balization and the recognition of interconnectedness, along with Wasserman’s relationship with the Higher School of Economics the emergence of the Internet and social media, make network Looking at three different groups, Finn and members of his lab in Russia began two years ago when he taught a standing-room will set out to better understand and assess the usefulness of these methods an increasingly fitting way to examine many aspects of only introductory seminar on network analysis at the school. At the social world. techniques. Two of the groups include young adults whose alcohol that point, says Valentina Kuskova, director of the new lab, he and abuse began before age 20. In one of these two groups are people others recognized the enormous demand in Russia for knowledge The network under investigation might be social, economic or who also have a history of impulsive, antisocial behavior, who as of the discipline and set out to develop the current laboratory. children frequently got into trouble and have broken the law as mathematical. It could examine the spread of ideas, products, diseases, a cultural fad or new technology. Yet, at the center of adults. A third group consists of individuals with no history of Wasserman’s participation has been key to the project’s visibility substance abuse or antisocial behavior. Peter Finn | Photo by Indiana University network science is the idea that connectivity, systematicity, and and success, Kuskova explains. “This lab would simply not have dependence between the units or actors of a network are essential The first part of the study examines the effect of an attentional been possible without him. Wasserman,” she states, “is a visionary. to greater understanding of those units and their organization. refocusing technique on working memory capacity and risky de- As a scientific supervisor, he goes beyond providing ideas, inspi- cision-making. The second will investigate the effect of a work- ration, and encouragement. The results speak for themselves. We “In order to really study who behaves the way they behave and ing memory training program on working memory capacity and are well on our way to establishing and popularizing the field of why, you need relational data,” said Wasserman, “This enables us decision-making. network research in Russia.” to see social influence in action.”

The study also has important implications for the problem of The new International Laboratory, one of twenty at the school, relapse in alcoholism, which often occurs in times of stress, and is itself a network made up of four hubs, each on different HSE can reduce working memory capacity even further. Average people campuses—two in Moscow, one in St. Petersburg, and one in generally make riskier and more impulsive decisions when their Perm. United by common methodologies, tools, and techniques, working memory is compromised as a result of stress, information the research applications span multiple disciplines and areas: polit- overload, high or low emotional states, or other factors, Finn said. ical science, education, psychology, management, international “But for people with low working memory capacity, who are al- business, sociology, and economics. The lab has already taught ready making bad decisions, when you put them under a cognitive two week-long workshops in network analysis (one in Moscow in load (of stress, etc.), their decisions can have catastrophic negative June and a second in St Petersburg in August) and has a number of consequences,” he said. joint projects well underway.

10 psych.indiana.edu psych.indiana.edu 11 Introducing “An InExact Science”

rt and science often seem worlds apart. But when the two meet up in Lisa Cantrell’s new podcast, An InExact Science, Asparks fly between them, igniting visions of a long, happy, fu- ture mutually beneficial to both. Since she graduated from PBS last year and began her new gig as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Davis, Lisa Cantrell (PhD 2013) has been dreaming up, plotting out and putting together episodes for her podcast project, “An InExact Science.” The first podcasts have appeared online. In January they will begin airing on KDVS in Davis. In An InExact Science, Cantrell plumbs the mysteries of every day human experience by offering the perspectives of top researchers in psychological science alongside the stories of “ordinary peo- ple” (aka non-scientists). In this way, she seeks to build “a small bridge,” as she calls it, “between what we sense every day and the empirical evidence of science.” Researcher Isaac Petersen plays Bird/Alligator with 2-year-old study “Why do we experience happiness? How do we learn a first lan- participant Hank Lawrence. Bird/Alligator is a “Simon Says” game in guage and why is learning a second sometimes hard? Under what which the children are told to follow the instructions of a bird circumstances do we feel regret? Why do we remember certain “Why do we experience happiness? How do puppet, but ignore those of an alligator puppet. The task measures events but not others? Why do we sometimes misremember? self-regulating ability. Where does religious belief come from?” we learn a first language and why is learning These are the questions that propel a podcast that, she announc- a second sometimes hard? Under what From language es in her promotional video, will be “about us, FOR us, and will invite science to pull up a chair, stay a while, have a cup of cof- circumstances do we feel regret? Why do we fee—heck, stay for dinner! And explain at least a little of why we to behavior experience the things we experience.” remember certain events but not others? Why But the conversation is hardly one-sided. Language, memory, do we sometimes misremember? Where does recent study tracks the links between early language skills Many previous studies have shown a correlation between behavior music, religion or regret—whatever the topic might be—she will religious belief come from?” and subsequent behavior problems in young children. Poor problems and language skill. Children with behavior problems, also expose what she calls “the beautiful side, the phenomenolog- Alanguage skills, the study suggests, limit the ability to control particularly those with attention deficits and hyperactivity, such as ical side, of what it feels like to experience a particular thing” so one’s behavior, which in turn can lead to behavior problems such in ADHD, often have poor language skills. Whether one of these that the topic is “not just objectified in the way that science does to as ADHD and other disorders of inattention and hyperactivity. problems precedes the other and directly causes it was until recent- explain things.” The experience brought home to her the mysteries of language ly an open question. learning, and on her return to college, she took a psychology “Young children use language in the form of private or self-di- In putting these views together, she seeks to produce something course that got her “super hooked,” as she puts it… rected speech as a tool that helps them control their behavior and artfully and beautifully designed. “I love listening to podcasts that guide their actions, especially in difficult situations,” said Isaac are done really well,” she explains, “the way they move informa- …Ultimately landing her straight in the lab of one of the foremost Petersen, a graduate student in the clinical science program. “Young children use language in the form of tion along and shape a topic. The shows that are really good”—she researchers on language learning and early development, PBS “Children who lack strong language skills, by contrast, are less mentions Radiolab, Snap Judgment, and 99% Invisible—“create Distinguished Professor and Chancellor’s Professor, Linda Smith. able to regulate their behavior and ultimately more likely to devel- private or self-directed speech as a tool that a space that has layers. You feel like you’re in a certain room or The first episode of An InExact Science, in fact, is on language and op behavior problems.” environment just by the sounds that are happening. They have a features an interview with her former advisor. Listen to this epi- helps them control their behavior and guide beautiful organization and structure.” sode here. Early childhood development has increasingly become a focus for public policy -- in debates over universal preschool, recognition of their actions, especially in difficult situations.” But not only is the podcast artfully designed, it is also poised to Now she is working in the Infant Cognition Lab of Lisa Oakes, a a “word gap” between rich and poor children, and new pediatric prompt what she calls a “science-art-what-up!” cycle. Alongside professor of psychology at UC Davis, and is studying visual atten- recommendations on reading to infants. top researchers and a story-telling public, she is enlisting local tion and memory in infants and the use of eye-tracking method- artists to produce promotional materials. (Go to the website and ology. In virtually all of her spare time, she can be found working “Children’s brains are most malleable earlier on, especially for In a longitudinal study published last year, Petersen, Bates and you will find buttons, posters, t-shirts, coffee mugs.) And she is on the podcast, uniting art and science in what she hopes will be a language,” said professor of clinical science John Bates, co-author several others concluded that the arrow points decisively from drawing on the music of local musicians to include in her show. long-term relationship with the “science-art-what-up” cycle. of the study. “Children are most likely to acquire skills in language poor language ability to later behavioral problems, rather than (One of the first episodes includes music of the Bloomington band, and self-regulation early on. Many of the states are starting to the reverse. The current study shows that it does this by way of Busman’s Holiday.) focus on preschool, edging toward universal preschool. But early self-regulation, a varied concept that includes physical, emotion- development specialists are not necessarily available. I would have al, cognitive and behavioral control. Self-regulation is integral to Not surprisingly perhaps, Cantrell herself comfortably occupies programs more readily available to families -- and focused on chil- children’s capacity to adapt to social situations and to direct their the worlds of both art and science. A South Carolina native, she dren most at risk as early as possible.” actions toward future goals. The absence of self-regulation abilities started college at Furman University as a visual arts major, but is a key predictor and component of future behavior problems. shifted gears when she realized this path would most likely pro- The paper, “The Role of Language Ability and Self-Regulation in vide little means of support. Not knowing what to do next, she the Development of Inattentive-Hyperactive Behavior Problems,” A number of studies have sought to explain the role of language took time off from college and traveled in Latin America. She appears online in the journal Development and Psychopathology. in the development of self-regulation in terms of the cognitive and worked in an adolescent rehabilitation center in Chile while living It is also co-authored by Angela Staples, a visiting assistant profes- neurological mechanisms by which they are linked. This study and painting in an art collective, and she taught preschool English sor in PBS. in Mexico.

12 psych.indiana.edu psych.indiana.edu 13 traces the way they unfold over time and the role of self-regula- tion in this process. To do this, Petersen, Bates, and Staples followed a group of 120 toddlers for a year, beginning when they were age 2 ½ and following up when they were 36 months and 42 months old. At each of these points they tested the children’s language skills and behavioral self-regulation, using tests for verbal comprehension and spoken vocabulary, as well as three tasks measuring self-reg- ulating abilities. They also used parent and secondary caregiver assessments of behavioral problems. Their findings suggested that language skill predicted growth in self-regulation, and Keep the momentum going! self-regulation, in turn, predicted behavioral adjustment. The study lends renewed force to the argument that early childhood may offer a pathway for reducing social inequality. For what makes the “developmental cascade” from language to Help us build on the overwhelming success of last • Faculty Diversity Enhancement Fund - To behavior particularly troubling, the researchers point out, is that th children most at risk for a deficit in language ability, those from year’s 125 Anniversary Campaign by making a gift stimulate and support research, teaching lower-income households, are often the least likely to get the to PBS this year. Whatever amount you can give this and scholarship related to diversity, including services needed to remedy the problem. year, we want you to be able to support the initiatives social, cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual orien- Studies, for example, have shown a “word gap” between children that are most important to you. Please consider mak- tation, socioeconomic, religious beliefs, race, of low income and those in affluent families, who hear 20 mil- lion more words by age 3 than their low-income counterparts. ing a contribution and designating it to one of the and age. This gap results in less developed verbal and reading skills. If, as following PBS funds: this study suggests, poor language skills lead to problems with • The Kenneth Heller Minority Student Sup- self-regulation and behavior, this can in turn contribute to the port Fund – Professor Emeritus Ken Heller less easily reversible and more costly social or academic problems • General Fund - As you probably know matches funds for any gift given to support in adolescence and later, adulthood. from your own experience, innovative, cut- Isaac Petersen the training of ethnic minority students and Petersen said the study indicates that we could look more closely ting-edge, multifaceted, and highly success- at language skill earlier on. But, he advises, “Don’t expect all others from under-represented groups in the ful organizations must remain nimble and children to be at the same level early on. If their language is slow field of psychological and brain sciences. to develop and self-regulation is lacking, they are likely to catch responsive to new opportunities and pressing up with proper supports. needs. Our General Fund provides discretion- • Women in Science Fund - Insofar as women “Among those who are slow, some could develop problems. If, by ary funding for this exact purpose. the age of 3½, a child is still lagging, it may be worth pursuing are still underrepresented in scientific and treatment for language and self-regulation skills -- the earlier technological fields, PBS seeks to support • Undergraduate Scholarship Fund - PBS the better,” Petersen said. the women students and faculty as they currently offers the most popular under- pursue careers in psychological science and graduate degrees in the College of Arts and to support research related to the issue of Sciences with nearly 1,700 majors. Both the women in science. department and its students benefit when we enable our top and most deserving students We hope you will join in supporting groundbreaking to focus more fully on scholarship and re- science and magnifying the impact of talented, di- search without financial worries. verse, and committed students and faculty.

• Graduate Fellowship Fund for research, Go to www.psych.indiana.edu/pbsfund.php teaching, and training - These resources give us a more competitive edge in bringing the best graduate students to the depart- ment. We currently need to “top off” existing fellowship lines to make them competitive with other world-class graduate programs.

• Technology Innovation and Support Fund Technology and resources for research lab- oratories optimize the training of graduate

John Bates and undergraduate students and support the most up-to-date methods and practices. The new undergraduate neuroscience labs would greatly benefit from such an enhancement.

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