Colloquia Series

Speaker: Evan Risko

Location: DV3130 - Davis Building

Title: Cognitive Offloading: Adventures in Distributing Cognition

Abstract:  

There seems little doubt that advances in technology are changing our day-to-day cognitive lives. As each advance drives deeper into the cognitive milieu a renewed appreciation of the fundamentally distributed nature of cognition is emerging. Our ability to flexibly deploy mixtures of internal and external resources in pursuit of our cognitive goals represents a defining feature of what it means to be a successful cognitive agent in a complex environment. My laboratory’s research has tried to provide some insight into these interactions. In particular, one important class of behaviour that these internal-external ensembles afford is cognitive offloading: we can use external resources to do some of the cognitive work for us. Despite the ubiquity of this type of behaviour, it has only recently become the target of systematic investigation in and of itself. I will review research from our laboratory and others that focuses on cognitive offloading and explore the future of research in distributed cognition more broadly.

Speaker: Ebere Adimora

Location: DV3130 - Davis Building

Title: Unveiling the Realities of Gender-Based Violence: Research Insights

Abstract:  

My present research explores the critical issues of gender-based violence (GBV), the prevalence, underlying causes, and the impacts on individuals and societies. It focuses on the various forms of GBV, including physical, emotional, sexual, economic violence among others. It also examines cultural, societal, and economic factors that perpetuate GBV. My research investigates the role of power dynamics, gender norms, and systemic inequalities that contribute to GBV, particularly against women and marginalized groups. I also focus on the survivor-centered approaches, legal frameworks, and community-based interventions to address and prevent GBV. Through evidence-based insights, my study has employed awareness campaigns and aims to increase awareness, foster dialogue, and promote practical solutions to address GBV and survivor support services.

Speaker: Dr. Erin Calipari

Title: Estradiol potentiates dopamine release through estrogen-receptor-independent actions on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Abstract:  

The mesolimbic dopamine system is one of the most well-studied circuits within the brain. While work has focused on sex differences in relative dopamine levels and the anatomy of this system, an important characteristic of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is that it is rapidly modulated through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) located directly on dopamine axons. Cholinergic modulation of dopamine release at distal axons has been a major hypothesis driving experimentation in neuroscience - critically, we find that this effect is not present in adult intact females. In defining the mechanism underlying these sex differences, we identified an estradiol binding site on α4β2* nAChRs that overlaps with binding sites for other known nAChR agonists. In males and ovariectomized females, estradiol increases dopamine release through potentiation of α4β2*-nAChRs. These receptors desensitization when potentiated, and, indeed, both estradiol actions and the regulation of dopamine release through this mechanism are absent in intact females. We link this sex difference in this receptor function to motivated behavior that differ between males and females. Overall, we show that estradiol has rapid, non-estrogen receptor-mediated, effects through α4β2*-nAChRs that alter the relationship between dopamine and acetylcholine in males and females.

Speaker: Dr. Stefanie Hutka

Title: Becoming a User Experience Researcher

Abstract:  

Stefanie Hutka (UofT Psychology PhD, 2015) will share her career journey, transitioning from a psychology PhD focused on auditory cognitive neuroscience, to a user experience researcher (UXR) leader focused on emerging technologies (e.g., spatial computing, artificial intelligence). She will describe key learnings from each stage of her career journey, from her initial move from academia to research scientist at an augmented reality start-up, to discovering UXR on the job, and going on to lead UXR for product launches at Fortune 500 companies. At the end of this talk, you’ll be equipped with a clear picture about what a UXR does, how UXR differs from an industry research scientist role, and actionable takeaways on how to translate your academic skills to industry.