Our Motto: Positive is Up--the Way God Intended!
     Oberlin's Psychophysiology Laboratory provides students with classroom and research experiences that are rarely available to undergraduates. The lab occupies a suite in Severance consisting of a testing room and a control room (Lab B), and a data analysis room (Lab A). Our Contact Precision Instruments (CPI) equipment and software can record up to 32 channels of input, including:
  • brain activity (16 channels of EEG / ERPs)
  • muscle activity (3 channels of EMG)
  • skin conductance (2 channels)
  • heart activity (ECG, finger pulse)
  • blood pressure (beat-to-beat)
  • respiration
  • temperature (2 channels)

     Physiological data acquisition is controlled by an AMD K-2 350MHz PC running CPI's PsyLab software. Experiment control, stimulus presentation, and behavioral data collection (e.g., key presses indicating choice, reaction time, etc.) are managed by a Pentium-IV computer running DirectRT software. An 8-bit TTL interface allows PsyLab to interact with DirectRT and other devices (e.g., tape recorders). Stimulus and response events are recorded alongside the physiological data. Signals are digitized at software-selectable rates of up to 1 KHz by a 12-bit A/D converter (skin conductance resolution is 24 bits).

     The Psychophysiology Laboratory supports instruction in Human Psychophysiology (PSYC-305). However, students pursuing independent research projects, and those assisting in faculty research, also benefit from this facility.
Lab Personnel

Faculty
  • Al Porterfield (Lab Coordinator)

    Current Research Assistants

  • Justin Heiman

    • Past Research Assistants
  • January Angeles
  • Lindsey Dillon
  • Amie Ely
  • Kristen Ezbicki
  • Molly Findley
  • Naomi Fishman
  • Samantha Grabler
  • Logan Hegg
  • Becky Hempel
  • Joshua Kay
  • Chris Macklin
  • Julie Noyes
  • Terri Palmer
  • Jessica Rothchild
  • Anna Smalley
  • Anja Soldan
  • Pam Tong
  • Kia Treier
  • Emily Vanderpol
  • Dan Weiskopf
    		•
    Recent Honors Students
  • Aaron Boster
  • Amie Ely
  • Jessa Klotz
  • Jessica Segal
  • Anja Soldan
  • Dan Weiskopf
    		•

    Acknowledgments

         The Oberlin Psychophysiology Laboratory was launched in 1992 through a National Science Foundation Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement grant to Al Porterfield, Jim Tanaka, and Patty deWinstanley. A 1996 Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant to Oberlin College provided funds to upgrade the lab's stimulus presentation equipment. The Department of Psychology has provided continuous support for day-to-day operations, maintenance, and incremental expansion.

    Nigel: Protector of the Lab (Ha!)      The lab is protected from electrical and computer gremlins which might otherwise cause mischief by a gargoyle named Nigel. Nigel, however, is not particularly hard-working, as mythical creatures go. The real behind-the-scenes hero of the lab is Bill Mohler (Electronics Specialist). Bill has greatly facilitated the lab's day-to-day operation through trouble-shooting and repair, and his ability to fabricate hardware on demand has allowed for a steady expansion of the lab's capabilities. Despite being stretched thin by a steady stream of demands from all over the campus, Bill unfailingly delivers expert assistance with a smile, making him the most compelling argument in favor of cloning that I have yet encountered. Bill Martons (Machinist) has also contributed much to a custom equipment installation that is both highly functional and great-looking. Last, but by no means least, Roger Dow, proprietor of CPI, has been very generous with software and hardware upgrades and general assistance. I am extremely grateful to all of these organizations and individuals--except, I guess, for Nigel, who has proved to be a total slacker. / ALP

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