Laboratory Director
Matthew B. Pontifex, Ph.D.
Dr. Pontifex’s primary research interest is in the area of Health Neuroscience, examining the relation between health-oriented behaviors and higher-order cognitive function; and the application of these health-oriented behaviors as a means for improving cognitive health, academic performance, and overall effective functioning. To date, his examination of these relationships has utilized both behavioral and neuroelectric measures to focus on the influence of acute as well as chronic aspects of physical activity, with a particular interest in the modulation of cognitive control. Future research will continue to investigate how aspects of health-oriented behaviors modulate neural networks underlying aspects of cognitive control in typically developing populations as well as within individuals suffering from cognitive and attentional disorders. By incorporating both applied and translational perspectives, this line of research may serve to increase public health concerns regarding physical inactivity and promote legislative changes towards creating more opportunities for health-oriented behaviors with the ultimate goal of providing early intervention to improve cognitive health across the lifespan.
Office:
126E IM Sports Circle
308 W. Circle Drive
East Lansing, MI 48824
Contact Information:
Phone: (517) 432-5105
Fax: (517) 353-2944
E-mail: pontifex@msu.edu
Doctoral Students
Undergraduate Laboratory Research Assistants
6 semesters in the lab
5 semesters in the lab
5 semesters in the lab
5 semesters in the lab
3 semesters in the lab
3 semesters in the lab
3 semesters in the lab
3 semesters in the lab
3 semesters in the lab
Interested in joining the HBCL?
Many of the best learning experiences happen outside the classroom and getting involved in research provides students with the opportunity to gain new skills and insight that will further their education and provide needed background for postgraduate study in medicine, physical and occupational therapy, and kinesiological psychology.
The Health Behaviors and Cognition Laboratory is currently looking for highly motivated undergraduate students to assist with on-going research projects.
Undergraduate research assistants (URAs) in the HBCL engage in activities such as administration of maximal exercise tests and neuropsychological assessments, preparation and measurement of neuroelectric activity, and data processing. Additionally, URAs from the HBCL will have the opportunity to present some of the lab’s research findings at MSU’s annual University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum; and some URAs, who have played a significant role, will have the opportunity to present at national meetings and earn co-authorship on publications in scientific journals. Students will have the opportunity to work closely with graduate students and Dr. Pontifex. Most students spend the first semester in the lab learning research methods for neuropsychological and metabolic assessments. Once mastered, students are able to begin their own research projects. If you are interested in learning more about undergraduate research opportunities in the HBCL, please contact Dr. Pontifex.
Graduate students in the HBCL are given numerous opportunities to be involved in research, teaching, and the writing and presentation of papers, and be exposed to the process of grant writing. It is expected that students will be actively involved in scholarly research ranging from smaller projects to randomized controlled trials, depending on the research objective. Students completing a doctoral degree will generally have several publications in peer-reviewed journals, have presented numerous papers at national conferences (e.g., American College of Sports Medicine, Society for Psycophysiological Research), and be prepared to continue as an independent investigator. If you are interested in learning more about graduate research opportunities in the HBCL, please contact Dr. Pontifex.
Honors and Awards
Graduate Alumni
Graduated 2020. Dissertation: Preschoolers exhibit similar learning but greater on-task behavior following physically active lessons on the approximate number system.
Amanda is now a postdoctoral researcher in the Addiction, Health, and Adolescence Lab at University of Pennsylvania.
Graduated 2019. Dissertation: Cerebral glucose uptake as an underlying mechanism of the effect of acute physical activity on inhibitory control.
Katy is now a postdoctoral researcher in the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.
Graduated 2017. Dissertation: The effect of an acute bout of physical activity on inhibitory control in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Drew completed a postdoc in the Center on Physical Activity and Health in Pediatric Disabilities at the University of Michigan and is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Louisiana Tech University.
