Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory

The Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory (CPL) is a research laboratory designed for the study of memory, attention and affect.

The laboratory is used to train, undergraduates, graduates, postdoctoral researchers and scholars visiting the School, in the measurement and analysis of cognitive processes (and the psychological bases of these) using combinations of behavioural, autonomic and eye-tracking methods.

In the Cognitive Psychophysiology Lab (CPL) we use convergent behavioural, psychophysiological and neurostimulation techniques to investigate the cognitive processes associated with memory, attention and affect.

Within CPL, we measure heart-rate, skin conductance and muscle activity. Our set-up enables simultaneous recording of these electro-physiological signals with eye-movement records captured from a Tobii TX300 eye-tracker. Our time-locked recordings permit analysis of the relationship and differences between different physiological responses (e.g., pupillometric, galvanic skin response, cardiac response curves) to stimuli such as sounds. Further, our current research endeavour involves determining whether recordings of lip muscle activity can offer a window into the relationship between inner-speech and various cognitive measures including short-term memory phenomena, task-switching, unfamiliar face-learning and a variety of problem-solving tasks.

Students using the Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory

Detailed information

Kit list

MP160 Biopac system with ECG, EMG and EDA modules and their associated electrodes.
Tobii TX300 Eye Tracker with setup that permits simultaneous recording of eye-movement and physiological data obtained from the Biopac.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS); Neurocon DC stimulator.
Our lab comprises a high-end computer for data analyses. The computer is equipped with Matlab software and the associated toolboxes for analysing eye-tracking and psychophysiological data. It also has AcqKnowledge software installed for the recording of physiological data, and R for statistical analyses.

Availability

Open during normal working hours and dependant on usage.

Location

The Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory can be found in DB135 of the Darwin Building

General enquiry