Anja Soldan, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
The Taub Institute
630 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
Phone: 212-342-1088
Fax: 212-342-1838
Email: as1578@columbia.edu
Ongoing Research:
Memory and Aging. Although it is well known that normal aging is associated with a decline in explicit, or declarative memory, the effects of aging on implicit memory are much less understood. I am currently examining the conditions under which normal older subjects demonstrate intact or impaired behavioral priming, a type of implicit memory, using behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological techniques. I am also interested in exploring how the cognitive and neural systems supporting implicit and explicit memory might interact during learning and how aging affects this interaction. Finally, I am interested in the effects of age-related changes in the “default mode network” on performance in memory tasks.
Neural mechanisms of priming. Behavioral priming is usually associated with a reduction in the neural response to repeated stimuli, also known as repetition suppression. However, dissociations between behavioral priming and neural repetition suppression can be observed and sometimes priming is accompanied by repetition enhancement, particularly for unfamiliar stimuli. Using ERPs and fMRI, I am investigating the neural mechanisms underlying priming and the relationship between priming and neural repetition suppression and enhancement as a function of stimulus type and task.
Perceptual priming and attention. One of my projects focuses on the dependence of perceptual implicit memory on attention: under which conditions do selective or divided attention manipulations reduce perceptual priming?
Cognitive Consequences of Sleep Deprivation. Using convergent methods (behavioral, fMRI, TMS, and EEG), this project investigates the cognitive and neurophysiological consequences of prolonged sleep deprivation.
Representative Publications
Soldan, A, Mangels, J.A., & Cooper, L.A. (2006). Evaluating models of object-decision priming: Evidence from ERP repetition effects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32(2), 230-248.
Soldan, A., & Mangels, J.A., Cooper, L.A. (in press). Effects of dividing attention during encoding on perceptual priming of unfamiliar visual object. Memory.
Soldan, A., Gazes, E., Hilton, H.J., & Stern, Y. (2008). Aging does not affect brain activation patterns associated with perceptual priming of novel objects. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(10), 1-15.
Soldan, A., Zarahn, E., Hilton, H.J., Stern, Y. (2008). Global familiarity of visual stimuli affects repetition-related neural plasticity but not repetition priming. NeuroImage, 39, 515-526.