During my fourth week in the lab I piloted a new paradigm. This paradigm was similar to the other mask paradigm with two slight differences. The first is that a fourth duration window was added that is longer than all of the preexisting duration windows. Also, this paradigm implements a combination of all three mask paradigms: the color paradigm that asks the subject to decide whether the dots are mostly yellow or blue, the motion paradigm where the subject is asked if the dots were moving right or left, and the color and motion paradigm which asks the subjects to make a decision about both attributes. When the subject runs the new piloted paradigm, they do not know which test they are going to be asked to take. The order that the tests appear in is random.
The purpose of this is to make sure subjects are taking each type of test under the same conditions. For instance, if a subject spends all of one day taking the color test and are very tired that day and then spend the next day when they are well rested taking the motion test, the results mighty accurately reflect the subjects sensitivity to color in comparison to their motion sensitivity. Their sensitivity to motion will appear stronger because of the conditions the tests were taken under which may not be true of that subject. By having the subjects take tests randomly each day, they will be taking the different versions of the test under the same circumstances. This makes the data more accurate and reliable.
Also the grad student I work with has helped me get started on my poster this week. I sent him a rough draft of the methods section and he made some revisions. Also, the assignment he gave me for our next meeting is to have all of the graphs and visuals finished for the poster as well as a rough draft of the written results section. I plan on finishing a rough draft of every section of the poster by the Friday of my fifth week in the lab.
In terms of the visuals for my poster I was instructed to plot the predicted paradigm data for each window against the actual data using matlab. Then, I was asked to make a slope graph, plotting the slope for all three duration windows. The slope in this case represents sensitivity divided by coherence. Lastly, I was to create and errorbar function and provide the estimated betas (bias, slope, duration, and interaction) and standard deviation from the statistics I generated on matlab.
After our lab meeting this week my PI asked You-Nah and I to set up a meeting with him. Later in the day we met him in his office and had a long conversation. We spoke for about an hour about the logistics of our project and where it fits in with the other work being conducted in the lab. Then the conversation became a little more lighthearted and we began talking about our plans for the future, which colleges I am looking at, and other things such as religion and sports. This was the first real conversation I have had with my PI since my experience in the lab. He is usually very busy and travels a lot so the only time I see him tends to be during our weekly lab meetings. It was nice to get to know him better during this time. He even suggested that we have another meeting next week in the lab.
Overall, I spent the week comparing the interference between motion and color perception, when one of the features is difficult versus when it is easy, began constructing my poster, and got to connect more with my PI. I would say this week was my most productive week in the lab thus far. I hope that next week in the lab proves even more successful than this one and hopefully I will continue to learn more about my PI.
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