Graduate Student: Peter Neumann (Neuroscience)
Peter
Neumann
About Peter...
Biography:
I was born in Costa Mesa, California, but moved to Chapel Hill,
North Carolina when I was three. I spent six years in North Carolina before
moving back to the west coast and finding a home in Los Angeles. I attended
Loyal High School in downtown Los Angeles.
Undergraduate Education:
I attended the University of Southern California as an undergraduate
where I majored in psychology and minored in video game design and management.
(Fight on!) As an undergraduate student, I contributed to research projects
using fMRI to examine the possibility of retinotopic maps within the lateral
occipital complex, and also to cognitive psychology studies in Dr. Gerald
Davison’s lab examining differences in threat-attribution between antigay and
racial hate-speech.
Current research topic:
I began my time in the neuroscience graduate program at WSU in the
Fall of 2009. My current interests in neuroscience concern the mysteries behind
decision-making and motivational responses. Broadly, I'm interested in what
causes people to make the decisions that they do. I'm working with Yan Dong as
my primary mentor using electrophysiological techniques to look at addiction
paradigms--as addiction is perhaps the ultimate model of compulsory behavior and
compulsory decision-making. I have recently submitted my first authorship for
publication.
Other Interests:
My other interests include fencing. I am a member of WSU’s fencing
club, and attend local tournaments. I am also an avid video game player, and
used to complete in a broad range of competitive video game tournaments. I enjoy
both playing and following football and soccer as well.
Major Advisor:
Dr. Yan Dong
Year entered PhD Program:
Fall 2009
Contact email:
neumann@vetmed.wsu.edu
