People
Krista Schendel, Ph.D.
Health Science
Research Specialist, (Focus: Cognitive Neuroscience)
Research Interests
My research interests have centered on gaining a better understanding of the neural basis of cognition in the healthy brain by studying patients with neurologic injuries. Specifically, one focus of my research has been the investigation of higher-level cognitive abilities such as reasoning, problem solving, and planning. I have published a series of articles characterizing the scope of such executive functioning deficits in patients with frontal lobe injuries and have shown that these deficits are often related to lower-level deficits in attention and working memory. More recently, I have also been investigating the role that language plays in mediating such executive processes. Our studies have demonstrated the presence of non-linguistic, executive deficits in patients with aphasia (e.g., deficits in non-verbal reasoning), which are often overlooked due to the focus on language rehabilitation. In my work, I have utilized techniques such as MRI, PET, and voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) to better understand these cognitive processes as well as their neurologic underpinnings. It is hoped that our research will lead to an improved understanding of the brain basis of cognition and will ultimately facilitate improvements in patient treatment and rehabilitation.
Publications
Schendel, K., & Robertson, L. C. (2006). Object-based Attentional Orienting may rely on an Updated Spatial Reference Frame.
Schendel, K. & Robertson, L. C. (2004). Reaching out to see: Arm position can attenuate human visual loss. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16(6), 935-943.
Schendel, K. L. & Robertson, L. C. (2002). Using reaction time to assess patients with unilateral neglect and extinction. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 27(7), 941-950.
Schendel, K. L., Robertson, L. C. & Treisman, A. (2001). Objects and their locations in exogenous cuing. Perception & Psychophysics, 63(4), 577-594 (Lead article).
Schendel, K. L. (2001). Spatial reference frames for visual attention: Evidence from healthy and brain-damaged human adults. International Dissertation Abstracts, 2001.
Robertson, L. C., & Schendel, K. L. (2000). Methods and converging evidence in neuropsychology. In J. Grafman & F. Boller (Eds.), Handbook of Neuropsychology , 2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 345-365. New York: Elsevier.