Week Six: Major Goal Setting

It just got real.

:)

No pictures this time.

Summer I's end brings a need for coordination, new research, and expanding horizons with regards to our ability to make quantitative conclusions about our research.We have to begin work on organizing our participants and our subjects, and that means a lot of administrative work and face to face time. 

A new mission of ours is to be able to have a computer program predict the existence of anxiety in subjects.

For the next two ish weeks, it's reflection and barbecues.

See ya then!

Week Five: Trainings

Hello!!!!!

We secured the Atlantis last week but the prongs on our cord were bent.

After getting a new cord, we began learning how to administer the training.

The training plays audible pitches while feeding back from brainwaves that are in the 0-.01 Hz range. The following is our Raspberry Pi station.

We are going to write our data directly to this thing. The following are pictures of our messy new room and me trying to figure out the BrainAvatar software.

Ooh. Coding...

The next step is taking people's baseline qEEG readings so that we can begin administering the training and observing its effect.

Week Four: Hardware to Test

This week we finished up work on our new IRB form. Again, forms, forms, forms.

                               

Okay. Our project is more than forms, I swear. We geared up to head over to Jackie's place and borrow her Atlantis hardware and BrainAvatar software. Again, this would allow us to do the ISF trainings which read brainwaves at frequencies modulated my the administrator and feedback audible audio tones and visual changes in the brightness of a DVD.

We got to go to her clinic again this week!

Jackie telling us how to use this stuff, and undoubtedly, some fascinating tidbits about alternative treatment.

The squad

QEEG stands for quantitative electroencephalogram, which allows for empirical conclusions about brainwaves. Our previous research can be quantified, but is mostly useful for clinical conclusions. PEMF uses electromagnetic radiation and is empirically proven to treat depression

This device was also lent to us and it measures in the units mV/m. Some dimensional analysis gives us the electric field unit, or N/C.

We went to test the equipment and one of the wires seemed to have been inappropriately handled, and we need to purchase a new 9-channel male DIN plug and get it on the existing electrode interface.

Week Three: Forms, Borrowed Things, and Coding

We kicked off the week with some wrap up for our previous project using BIOPAC. We ended up with a total of 16 subjects and we may be able to maneuver the data into one conclusion or another, but our main focus has been on what is yet to come.

This is Professor DiLauro hooked up to the Atlantis. The Atlantis interfaces with software named BrainAvatar for the purposes of administering neuro-feedback trainings. Neuro-feedback is a burgeoning technique that focuses on autonomic regulation. That monitor displayed "Little Miss Sunshine," a film vaguely about beauty pageants, and the brightness changed according to Professor DiLauro's brain waves. In addition, tones in a diatonic scale played in response to the professor's brainwaves. The result is a surprisingly profound effect on wakefulness and mood. This paradigm is the infra-slow fluctuation training exhibited during the seminar that took place before Summer I began.

We are beginning work on furnishing one of the old x-ray rooms in the dental hygiene clinic to transform it into a therapeutic, sleek, and effective place for our research to take place. Unfortunately, the room was unavailable for a picture due to not having her makeup on.

It's kind of a mess right now. Check back next week. 

Sadik E. has been drafted to help us with digitizing some forms and being generally awesome at everything. We acquired a Raspberry Pi and a new monitor for Sadik to begin work that will undoubtedly assist us in achieving the necessary level of privacy and ergonomic fu. 

I'm not going to lie, most of our work this week was creating documents.

Documents. Documents. Intakes, anxiety measures, consents, sign up sheets, flyers, the sixth thing. 

Seriously, we made like 20 different documents this week.

We are hoping to receive an Atlantis and the BrainAvatar software on loan so that we can begin to administer the ISF trainings. Also, we are going to borrow qEEG equipment so that we might determine the power of the trainings. Jackie De Vries would be our source, and she is at the Crossroads clinic by route 17 on Linwood avenue. 

The last thing is that we are going to have to overhaul our IRB form and our research proposals to accommodate all of these changes. We learned that we have a loooooooooot of work to do.

Here are some more pictures. Cheers!

 

 

Summer Internship : Week 2

After our EEG members attended the Infraslow Fluctuation (ISF) Training Seminar with Dr. Di Lauro and Jackie De Vries, the team decided to introduce some procedures that can be incorporated to improve our research on Neural Resonant Induction. We were very fortunate to find a research similar to what we started in the Spring semester. ISF uses frequencies under 1 Hertz to regulate Seizure control, PMS ( pre- menstrual syndrome), and Developmental disorders. Since we observed frequencies at a higher level in our own research. It was easy to modify what we learned from the seminar to enhance our study on anxiety. We had to include intake forms to get patient and treatment history on our subjects.We are interested in making actions that will benefit the future Neurofeedback.

Welcome to the second week of the Summer Internship. We have some new faces and a returning member joining the team.

Mentor Dr. Di Lauro viewing the brain waves graph and directing Programmer Sadik Erisen to implement similar diagram patterns from our collected data. 3SP member, Alex assisting on locating the missing statistics.

Selfie Time!!

Member, Baian Rasheed filling out the pre-reading survey for the brain waves analyses.

Ladies of the EEG having a brief discussion with Dr. Di Lauro.

Breakfast at STEM!!

Sadik's first time assisting in proper placement of the electrodes in Alex's head. 

                             Member, Nikita Gyawali leading the training of our new 3SP members

Former STEM E-board member,Tamar Tokman assisting in taking the EEG reading.

The group is formulating a new procedure to optimize our research methods.

Summer 2017 Internship: Week 1

With the new changes in our STEM grant, we are now called STEMatics. Stem Students Scholar Program (3SP) is a highly selective program, which focuses on students that have shown outstanding accomplishment in their academics. This program will introduce three key elements in academics, research, and service. Unlike Phi Theta Kappa, this program will offer these types of students investigative analyses and critical thinking skills.

3SP member, Sibora Peca (also President of the Student Government Association)

3SP member, Alexander Czechowicz (also Editor of the Newsletter in Phi Theta Kappa)

Our research mentor, the amazing Dr. Colleen Di Lauro.

Infraslow Fluctuation (ISF) 3-Day Training Seminar at the Holiday Inn!!!!

Recently, Dr. Di Lauro invited a few of us from EEG to this seminar that specialized on using frequencies under 1 Hz. Dr. Di Lauro and I had opportunity to learn the basics to the ISF training on Day 1, then Day 2&3 we did simulations and actually got the chance to use the Brainmaster equipment called Brain-avatar in action. Which, currently one of the newest advancement in Neurofeedback. The ability to not only display brainwave on a screen, but locate an area of interest in a 3D model of the brain. After, you found the area you're interested in, you can dissect that area, see the alpha, beta, theta, and delta waves with a QEEG or Quantitative EEG. Lastly, we see with Brain-avatar and regular EEG's (Except our outdated equipment's) the Absolute Power, Relative Power, Amplitude Asymmetry, Coherence, and Phase Lag in the brain. All these have pre-programmed information can gage or compare the "Average" result to someone who displays a learning disability or a result at differ from the norm. We met with clinicians and doctors from all over the country to learn and implement newer updates to equipment in their individual practices. It felt like a masterclass in clinical research and diagnosis. We were able to interact with former Neurosurgeons, Neurologist, Social Workers, and the man who created the idea. Mark Smith liked the fact were interested in implementing his (ISF) into our research. Funny, thing were doing the same thing at a higher frequency but his process was far more in depth than ours. I took 10 pages of notes that day and I totally see a way we can improve our design and implementation of ISF to our research.      

Feel like we belonged here!!!

Dr. Di Lauro signing for the roller coaster of her life. lol

We were happy to see Jackie, Alex and Dan for Day 2&3 of the seminar.

This pretty thang cost almost $7000 based on the website of course.

It's never a bad to take a selfie!!!!

Having a great time with Dan and Alex!!!! This Mediterranean restaurant had awesome food but conference didn't pay our lunch though. 

2017 Commencement!!!!!!

With the graduation of the of our co-project leaders, Sheron, members Nikita, Heineken, Agatha, and other STEM members too. 

Sheron had the opportunity to sing the Star Spangle Banner at the graduation.  

The girls celebrating after receiving their diploma. 

Sheron walking to take their seats.

Aww!! Daniela and Charles are leaving us too!!! Hopefully, they have a safe journey to the college of their choice.  

Heineken, Sheron, and Iqra are sharing a joyful goodbye.

Agatha sharing her goodbyes!!!

The Graduates Diploma!!!

Awww Daniela!!!

STEM Graduates with their green stole.

Some of the graduates at Metlife Stadium for the ceremony.