Research Projects

The TEAKA Research Group is focusing on an array of project this semester.

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) syndrome: Research & educational outreach project
Clinical uses of ketamine
- Case series study: Health record review of patients treated with sublingual ketamine treatments
- Knowledge and attitudes about use of ketamine for clinical purposes

In cooperation with the Bonding and Beyond Lab at FGCU and the WAVES Lab at FAU, we are working on several emotion development projects

Early emotion development: Infant jealousy
Facial emotion recognition: An autism spectrum disorder (ASD) study

Studies under design or undergoing expansion

Transcendence and clinical use of ketamine
Uncanny valley theory: Is it cute or creepy?
Differential parental investment: A study of favoritism
Music therapy and emotion regulation (collaborative effort with researchers from the Bonding & Beyond Lab and the FGCU Music Department)

Are you interested in participating in one of our projects?

Fill out the FGCU Everything Lab: Study Interest survey and a member of our research team will contact you via email or phone.
You may also reach out to our research team at MizeLab@fgcu.edu or (239) 590-7349.

Students who are interested in joining the EDP Research Team should visit the Research Assistants page for more information.

Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) Syndrome

MRI

Posterior cortical atrophy is a syndrome resulting from progressive neural degenerative diseases that initially affect the visual perception system in the brain. Most cases are found to stem from Alzheimer’s disease. Over time, the atrophy can spread into other regions of the brain resulting in memory deficits and other symptoms (e.g., dementia) associated with traditional major neurocognitive disorders. Despite an international effort to establish consistent diagnostic criteria, the unusual presentation of the syndrome makes PCA difficult to diagnose. Moreover, many patients and their care partners find it difficult to find information about the syndrome helpful resources.

Research

Dr. Mize and her research team are working to raise awareness of the condition and to create PCA-specific resources. Please consider helping us with these research efforts.

If you or your loved one are living with PCA, we would love to have you contribute your story to our project.
We are also looking for medical professionals to interview for this project.
Student Research Assistant, Solange Gonzalez, needs adults over 40, (healthy or with typical variants of Alzheimer’s disease or other neurodegenerative conditions) to complete a short 5-minute survey for her Honors Thesis.
- Contributors to our PCA interview project are invited to complete this optional survey on Differential Susceptibility & Brain Health.

To join us on this important project, please complete our FGCU Everything Lab: Study Interest survey or contact Dr. Mize

Educational Outreach

Dr. Mize and her research team are very involved in educational outreach efforts to raise awareness of PCA.

The research team has created an informational PCA Website.
Dr. Mize had created a virtual support group for those diagnosed with PCA and their care partners.
- Join the PCA Support Group waitlist
Members of our TEAKA Research Group offer educational presentations about PCA.
- Please reach out to our research team if you are interested in learning more about what kind of presentations we offer.

Ketamine Lines of Research

Have you been treated with sublingual ketamine for psychiatric, neurological, or physical conditions?

We invite you to submit your health records for review and of a research study on this important topic.

Clinicians who are prescribing ketamine to their patients or pharmicists who fill ketamine prescriptions are invited to reach out to partner on the research

Option 1: Partner with us to advertise the study to your clientele to subit their own health records to us
Option 2: Clinicians can partner with us to provide patient records to us directly

Our research team is working on two related survey projects in this line of research.

Logan Welch is conducting a survey on knowledge and attitudes about ketamine use for clinical purposes (link to survey) for his honors thesis project.
More information about a new survey on transcendence and clinical uses of ketamine will be posted soon!

Reach out to the research team or complete our Everything Lab: Study Interest survey to learn more about this exciting line of research!

Early Emotion Development: Infant Jealousy

baby

The aim of the infant emotion project is to gain understanding of how babies respond to the loss of their parent’s attention in social-rival and nonsocial conditions.

Research teams from Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have been working to analyze data that has been collected from their mothers and infants over the last decade. Recently, we have started a new study on infants in their first year of life and are now including fathers int he research.

We are seeking 1-year-old infant “scientists” to join us in our research on attachment relationships and early emotion development. Infants and their parents are being seen:

during two visits when the baby is between 10- and 14-months of age
- once with their mother and once with their father

Parents will spend 15 to 30-minutes answering a series of questions online through a Qualtrics survey.

During the visits, the parent and infant are observed playing in one of our child-friendly lab spaces. We also collect biological measures including saliva and use electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor the infant’s brain activity in a safe, noninvasive way.

Parents can opt to be seen with their infant in the EDP "Everything" Lab at FGCU (in the Fort Myers region) or in the WAVES Lab at FAU (MacArthur campus in Jupiter).

Reach out to the research team or complete our Everything Lab: Study Interest survey to learn more about this exciting project!

Emotion Recognition Study

The facial emotion recognition (FER) study is a collaborative project between researchers led by Krystal D. Mize, PhD (Director of the EDP Lab at Florida Gulf Coast University) and Nancy Aaron Jones, PhD (Director of the WAVES Lab at Florida Atlantic University). Katy Brooks works with Drs. Jones and Mize to oversee the FER study. The research team is interested in the factors that contribute to the development of socio-emotions during childhood. Drs. Mize and Jones have dedicated their careers to working with student research assistants to investigate the physiological and behavioral underpinnings of the social brain, with specific focus on the factors that contribute to the development of socio-emotions in childhood. We are offering a $20 Amazon or Target gift-card to families who participate in this study, and your child will be able to select a free toy.

Please consider participating in our facial emotion recognition study if you:

have a child between 4 and 8 years old
- with or without a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
want to help researchers understand the emotional development of children with ASD
want to better understand how your child recognizes emotions

We are excited to have you participate in research with us!

To book your session at the EDP Lab at FGCU, complete our Everything Lab: Study Interest survey or contact Dr. Mize.
To book your session with our collaborators at the WAVES Labs at FAU, contact Katy Brooks.

Differential Parental Investment and Family Relationships

teens

The research team is currently designing a study to explore the factors associated with differential parental investment and family relationships. Recruitment and data collection will begin soon.

Uncanny Valley Theory: Is It Cute or Creepy?

The team is currently designing an expansion of one of our previous survey studies to further explore this topic. Recruitment and data collection will begin soon.

Students who are interested in joining the EDP Research Team should visit the Research Assistants page for more information.