The College of William & Mary

Paul D. Kieffaber, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Psychological Sciences

The College of William & Mary

Department Website

08/10/2010

Research

At the core of my research program is the study of attention & cognitive control using behavioral measures and electroencephalography (EEG/ERP) in an effort to improve our understanding about the nature of the implementation of these cognitive functions in the human brain. Another important aspect of my research is applying what we learn about the neural correlates of these cognitive functions to the development of research that aims to improve our understanding about changes in cognitive functioning in clinical populations.

Teaching

Physiological Psychology | Computer Applications in Psychology

Cognitive Neuroscience | Research Methods

Research in Physiological Psychology

Average response following visual cue

Laboratory

The Cognitive Psychophysiology Lab is a state of the art facility for conducting psychophysiological research. The lab is equipped with tools for the recording of EEG, Eye-tracking, heart rate (EKG), and skin potentials (GSR).

The central research focus in the lab is the study of the neural correlates of attention and cognitive control using EEG methods and the development of an improved understanding of cognitive dysfunction in clinical populations.

A few representative projects from the lab are listed below:

McGill, M., Kieffaber, P. D. (Under Review). Event-related Theta and Gamma Band Oscillatory Dynamics During Visuo-spatial Sequence Memory in Younger and Older Adults, Psychophysiology.

Scrivano, R. M., & Kieffaber, P. D. (2021). Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of Simon and flanker conflict interference in younger and older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 1-31.

Lindbergh, C. A., Kieffaber,P. D. (2013) The Neural Correlates of Temporal Judgments in the Duration Bisection Task. Neuropsychologia, 51(2), 191-196.

Gayle, L. C., Gal, D., & Kieffaber, P. D. (2012) Measuring affective reactivity in individuals with autism spectrum personality traits using the visual mismatch negativity event-related brain potential. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6(334), 1-7.

Full List of Publications

BOLD = W&M Graduate Student

BOLD = W&M Undergraduate

Osborne, J., Norton, E., Kieffaber, P. D. (In Preparation), Using Single-trial Movement Kinematics to Deconstruct Response Monitoring Processes: An ERN Study.

Surdel, N. & Kieffaber, P. D. (In Preparation), Dissociating Attentional and Response Set Components of Task-set Switching in Single and Dual-task Settings

McGill, M., Kieffaber, P. D. (Under Review). Event-related Theta and Gamma Band Oscillatory Dynamics During Visuo-spatial Sequence Memory in Younger and Older Adults, Psychophysiology.

Lundin, N. B., Burroughs L. P. , Kieffaber, P. D., Morales J. J., O’Donnell, B. F., Hetrick, W. P., (In Press) Temporal and Spectral Properties of the Auditory Mismatch Negativity and P3a Responses in Schizophrenia, Clinical EEG and Neuroscience.

Kieffaber, P.D., Hershaw, J., Sredl, J., West, R. (2016) Electrophysiological Correlates of Error Initiation and Response Correction. Neuroimage, 128, 158-166.

Kieffaber, P.D., Cunningham, E., & Hershaw, J., Okhravi, H. R. (2016) A brief neurometric battery for the assessment of age-related changes in cognitive function. Clinical Neurophysiology, 127(5), 2192-2199.

Brenner, C., Rumak, S. P., Burns, A., & Kieffaber, P. D. (2014) The Role of Encoding and Attention in Facial Emotion Memory: An EEG Investigation, International Journal of Psychophysiology, 93, 398-410.

Oleynick, V. C., Thrash, T. M., LeFew, M. C., Moldovan, E. G., Kieffaber, P. D. (2014) The scientific study of inspiration in the creative process: Challenges and opportunities, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8(436), 1-8.

West, R., Tiernan, B. N., Kieffaber, P. D., Bailey, K., & Anderson, S. (2014) The effects of age on the neural correlates of feedback processing in a naturalistic gambling game. Psychophysiology, 51(8), 734-745.

West, R., Bailey, K., Anderson, S. Kieffaber, P. (2014) Beyond the FRN: A Spatio-temporal Analysis of the Neural Correlates of Feedback Processing in a Virtual Blackjack Game. Brain and Cognition, 86, 104-115.

Dickter, C. L., Kieffaber, P. D., Kittel, J. A. & Forestell, C. A. (2013) Mu Suppression as an Indicator of Activation of the Perceptual-Motor System by Smoking-related Cues in Smokers, Psychophysiology, 50(7), 664-70

Lindbergh, C. A., Kieffaber,P. D. (2013) The Neural Correlates of Temporal Judgments in the Duration Bisection Task. Neuropsychologia, 51(2), 191-196.

Kieffaber,P. D., Kruschke, J. K., Walker,P. M., Cho, R. Y., & Hetrick, W. P. (2012) The

contributions of stimulus- and response-set to control and conflict in task-set switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0029545

Kieffaber, P. D., Cho, R. Y. (2010) Induced cortical gamma-band oscillations reflect cognitive control elicited by implicit probability cues in the preparing to overcome prepotency (POP) task. Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 10, 431-440.

Brenner, C.A., Kieffaber, P. D., Johannesen, J.K., O’Donnell, B. F., Hetrick, W. P. (2009) Event-related potential abnormalities in Schizophrenia: A failure to ’gate-in’ salient information?, Schizophrenia Research, 113 (2-3),332-338.

Paytner, C., Kieffaber, P. D., Reder, L.M. (2009) Knowing we know before we know: ERP correlates of initial feeling-of-knowing. Neuropsychologia, 47 (3), 796-803.

Reder, L. M., Park, H., & Kieffaber, P. D. (2009) Memory systems do not divide on consciousness: Reinterpreting memory in terms of activation and binding. Psychological Bulletin, 135 (1), 23-49.

Carroll, C., Kieffaber, P. D., Vohs, J.L., O’Donnell, B. F., Shekhar, A., Hetrick, W. P. (2008) Contributions of Spectral Frequency Analyses to the Study of P50 ERP Amplitude and Suppression in Bipolar Disorder With or Without a History of Psychosis. Bipolar Disorders, 10 (7), 776-787

Vohs, J.L., Hetrick, W. P., Kieffaber, P. D., Bodkins, M., Bismark, A., Shekhar, A., & O’Donnell, B. F. (2008), Visual event-related potentials in schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117 (1), 119-131

Kieffaber, P. D., Marcoulides, G. A., White, M., & Harrington, D. E., (2007) Modeling the ecological validity of neurocognitive assessment in adults with acquired brain injury. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 14 (3), 206-218

Kieffaber, P. D., O’Donnell, B. F., Shekhar, A., & Hetrick, W. P., (2007) Event-related brain potential evidence for preserved attentional set switching in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 93, 355-365.

Kieffaber, P. D., Kappenman, E., O’Donnell, B. F., Shekhar, A., Bodkins, M., & Hetrick, W. P. (2006) Shifting and maintenance of task set in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 84 (2-3), 345-358.

Kieffaber, P. D. & Hetrick, W. P. (2005). Event-related Potential Correlates of Task-switching and Switch Costs. Psychophysiology, 42, 56-71.

Johannesen, J. K., Kieffaber, P. D., O’Donnell, B. F., Shekhar, A., Evans, J. D., & Hetrick,, W. P. (2005). Contributions of subtype and spectral frequency analysis to the study of P50 ERP amplitude and suppression in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 78, 269-284.

Brown, S. M., Kieffaber, P. D, Vohs, J. L., Carroll, C. A., Tracy, J. A., Shekhar, A., O’Donnell, B. F., Steinmetz, J. E., & Hetrick, W. P. (2005). Eye-blink conditioning deficits indicate timing and cerebellar abnormalities in schizophrenia. Brain and Cognition, 58, 94-108.

Brenner, C. A., Edwards, C. R., Carroll, C. A., Kieffaber, P. D., & Hetrick, W. P. (2004). P50 and acoustic startle gating are not related in healthy participants. Psychophysiology, 41(5), 702-708.

Zirnheld, P. J., Carroll, C. A., Kieffaber, P. D., O’Donnell, B. F., Shekhar, S., & Hetrick, W. P. (2004). Haloperidol Impairs Learning and Error-Related Negativity (ERN) in Humans. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16 (6), 1098-1112.

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