Research Projects
The Everything Lab's research projects are organized across two complementary research groups.
Brain & Behavior Research Group
This group explores brain, behavioral, and experiential phenomena through research spanning neuroscience and neurocognition.
Current Research
- Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) syndrome: Research & educational outreach project
- Neuroplastogen-related research
- Neuroplastogen Applications (NPA): Retrospective health-record case series of individuals who have received neuroplastogen treatments
- Ongoing review projects
- scoping review on PCA
- meta-analysis on psilocybin.
Launching this Semester
- Transcendent experiences: Survey research examining transcendent experiences and neuroplastogen/psychedelic-related treatments
Expanding Previous Research
- Highly Sensitive Persons & Alzheimer's Disease: Survey research
Evolutionary Social Behavior Research Group
This group investigates social and emotional behavior through evolutionary and developmental perspectives. Current projects include:
- Early emotion development: Infant jealousy
- Facial emotion recognition: An autism spectrum disorder (ASD) study
Launching this Semester
- Differential parental investment: A survey study of favoritism
Expanding Previous Research
- Uncanny valley theory: Is it cute or creepy?
Highlighting our collaborative nature, this team is working closely with the WAVES Emotion Lab at FAU on our active emotion development projects. We also partner with the Bonding & Beyond Lab at FGCU on recruitment efforts for our early development projects and to offer student research assistants broader training in the behavioral sciences.
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 Everything Lab research team should visit the Research Assistants page for more information.
Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) Syndrome
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.
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 has created a virtual support group for those diagnosed with PCA and their
care partners.
- Join the PCA Support Group waitlist
- Members of our Brain & Behavior 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.
Neuroplastogen-Related Research
Have you been treated with a neuroplastogen for psychiatric, neurological, or physical conditions?
- We invite you to submit your health records for review for a research study on this important topic.
Clinicians who are prescribing medications such as ketamine, psilocybin, or MDMA to their patients or pharmacists who support these treatments are invited to reach out to partner on the research.
- Option 1: Partner with us to advertise the study to your clientele to submit 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 a related survey project.
- More information about a new survey on transcendence and neuroplastogens 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
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 in the 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 Everything Lab at FGCU (in the
Fort Myers region) or in the WAVES Emotion 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 Everything Lab at Florida Gulf Coast University) and Nancy Aaron Jones, PhD (Director of the WAVES Emotion Lab at Florida Atlantic University). 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.
- This work supported the dissertation research of Dr. Katy Brooks Wagner, How Children Recognize Emotions: Familiarity, Emotional Information Processing, and Autism Spectrum Disorder under supervision of Dr. Nancy Aaron Jones.
Data collection for this project has concluded. The collaborative research team is currently analyzing the genetic data and preparing manuscripts for publication, while exploring opportunities to build on this research.
Differential Parental Investment and Family Relationships
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.
