Elisabeth J. Ploran

Degrees

PHD, 2010, Univ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh; MS, 2008, Univ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh; BA, 2004, Drew Univ

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Bio

Elisabeth Ploran is an Assistant Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience, teaching courses in Sensation & Perception, Research Methods, and Cognition, as well as Behavioral Neuroscience on occasion. She received her dual B.A. degree in Psychology and Political Science from Drew University in 2004, M.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008, and Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. Her dissertation focused on perceptual decision processes under the mentorship of Mark E. Wheeler. She then spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Raja Parasuraman and Jim Thompson at George Mason University in Virginia studying spatial memory and spatial cognition.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Ploran is working on several projects investigating hippocampal and striatal contributions to spatial navigation and memory using fMRI, real-world navigation with colleagues at West Point and Quantico, the neural substrates of perceptual decisions with colleagues at University of Pittsburgh, and amygdala function during fear discrimination with colleagues at University of Michigan.

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Research Interests

Spatial cognition, spatial memory, perceptual decisions, describing cognitive deficits and addressing cognitive deficits in a tailored way

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Recent Courses Taught

Course	Title	Level
NEUR 002	INTRO TO NEUROSCIENCE II	Undergraduate
PSY 014F	(BH) LEARNING TO LEARN	Undergraduate
PSY 099	INTERNSHIP IN PSYCHOLOGY	Undergraduate
PSY 100	DEPT HONORS CANDIDACY:RESEARCH	Undergraduate
PSY 151	INDEPENDENT READINGS IN PSY	Undergraduate
PSY 166	SENSATION & PERCEPTION	Undergraduate
PSY 207	COGNITION AND PERCEPTION	Graduate
PSY 214	NEURAL BASES BEHAVR	Graduate
PSY 602	DISSERTATION PROP PREP	Graduate
PSY 604	DISSERTATION ADVISEMENT	Graduate