RESEARCH
- Zora Neale Hurston -
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose”
Time is the metric by which our lives are measured. It determines whether we are sleeping or waking, where we are, and who we are with. Although our lives are structured by time, we commonly understand that time may feel different from one moment to the next. For example, 5 minutes spent waiting in line at the DMV may feel like an hour while 5 minutes with friends may feel like it flies by. To experience such large deviations in a perception that is so fundamental to our consciousness seems disadvantageous, yet that is our reality. Additionally, much of our waking lives are spent thinking about topics unrelated to what we are doing, which may be related to those distortions in time perception.
My research is primarily focused on how though processes relate to perceived experience of time. In particular I am currently investigating how mind wandering leads to distortions in time perception. For example, does thinking about one fixed topic while mind wandering produce different time distortions than allowing the mind to wander freely between topics? Does a history of traumatic experiences and/or PTSD symptoms relate to the association of mind wandering and time perception? Is mind wandering related to distortions in estimation durations, the feeling of the passage of time, or both? Also, how does this association manifest in the brain? I used the methods of cognitive neuroscience to investigate questions like these.
See below to see some of my current projects and journal publications.
Current Projects
Projects I am leading:
Cognitive states while mind wandering and associated alterations in time perception
I am investigating how different thought types relate to distortions in the perception of time via an online study using E-Prime Go.
Study phase: Planning
A data-driven approach to observing and differentiating extreme television and video viewing behavior
Using an online daily-diary format to investigate if there are categories of extreme viewing behavior.
Study phase: Submitting
COVID-19 image exposure impacts recollection of the passage of time over previous year
Using online experiment to expose participant to COVID-19 image or neutral image to see if image exposure distorts retrospective memory of passage of time.
Study phase: Writing
Mind wandering and time perception in PTSD, cPTSD and trauma-exposed individuals
Online study to determine how trauma history or PTSD/cPTSD symptoms or diagnosis relates to mind wandering and time perception.
Study phase: Data collection beginning soon
Using EEG to investigate the relationship between mind wandering and altered time perception
Investigating how different thought types relate to altered time experience and differing EEG activity.
Study phase: Planning
Doomscrolling in the age of COVID-19: The association of voluntarily reading undesirable news and mental health
Online study on how doomscrolling during the pandemic relates to mental health.
Study phase: Data analysis
Netflix and pill: The relationship between television/video watching behaviors and substance use in college students
Online study of watching behavior and substance use while watching versus not watching.
Study phase: Submitting
Projects I am also working on
Guillot, C. R., Kelly, M. E., Phillips, N. B., Su, M., Douglas, M. E., Poe, D. J., Berman, M. E., & Liang, T. BDNF and stress/mood-related interactions on emotional disorder symptoms, executive functioning, and deliberate self-harm.
Study phase: Writing
Pirotina, B., Kelly, M. E., & Ryals, A. J. Personality factors impact well-being during COVID-19 pandemic.
Study phase: Analysis
McClay, M., Wittman, M., Yanakieva, S., Polychroni, N., Luke, D. P., Kelly, M. E., & Terhune, D. B. Altered states of consciousness and time perception: An integrative review.
Study phase: Writing
Fisher, D. R., Zheng, T., Bielinski, D. F., Kelly, M. E., Steindler, D., & Shukitt-Hale, B. Epidiferphane (EDP) enhances calcium buffering in rat hippocampal cells and reduce stress signaling in microglial cells.
Study phase: Writing
Duffield, T., Kelly, M. E., & Parsons, T. iANAM: The ability to “visualize” headache, sleep disturbance, and mTBI.
Study phase: Planning
Journal Publications
Ryals, R. J., Kelly, M. E., & Cleary, A. M. (in press). Increased pupil dilation during tip-of-the-tongue states. Consciousness and Cognition.
Kelly, M. E., Guillot, C. R., Quinn, E. N., Lucke, H. R., Bello, M. S., Pang, R. D., & Leventhal, A. M. (2020). Anxiety sensitivity in relation to cigarette smoking and other substance use in African American smokers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/adb0000573
Shukitt-Hale, B., Thangthaeng, N., Kelly, M.E., Smith, D.E., & Miller, M.G. (2017). Raspberry differentially improves age-related declines in psychomotor function dependent on baseline motor ability. Food & Function, 8, 4752-4759. doi: 10.1039/C7FO00894E
Poulose, S.M., Rabin, B.M., Bielinski, D.F., Kelly, M. E., Miller, M.G., Thanthaeng, N., & Shukitt-Hale, B. (2017). Neurochemical differences in learning and memory paradigms among rats supplemented with anthocyanin-rich blueberry diets and exposed to acute doses of 56Fe particles. Life Sciences in Space Research. 12, 16–23. doi: 10.1016/j.lssr.2016.12.002
Shukitt-Hale, B., Kelly, M. E., Bielinski, D. F., & Fisher, D. R. (2016). Tart cherry extracts reduce inflammatory and oxidative stress signaling in microglial cells. Antioxidants, 5(4), 33. doi: 10.3390/antiox5040033