uci social sciences enews

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Flipped reality

Prism goggles trick the brain into rewiring the visual cortex, providing insight into its plasticity

The first thing you notice after you put on Dr. Alyssa Brewer's prism goggles is the nausea. A roiling hits the stomach and grows worse as you begin to move. The world is strangely out of kilter. You reach out to grab hold of something, but it's not there. Just putting one foot in front of the other takes an enormous effort. "Welcome to the world of unreality" is what the UCI associate professor of cognitive sciences likes to say when unlucky subjects first peer out of the goggles. They're an ingenious way to unhinge a person's sense of reality. The environment one sees is completely flipped; the two prisms inside are tilted so that what you see on the left is really on the right, and what's on the right is really left. Brewer is intentionally tricking the brain, forcing it to find a way to adapt to this strange new reality. Her subjects stumble and lurch, grasping at air. It's the supreme test of the visual and vestibular systems, pathways in the brain that use what you feel and see to enable navigation of the three-dimensional world around you. Such mind boggling helps Brewer and other scientists learn how the brain works. She hopes experiments like this will lead to new treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and stroke, perhaps even Alzheimer's disease and chronic pain. More...

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Presidential recognition

'16 anthropology grad and future physician is recognized by the White House for his dedication to fair and compassionate health care for all

The economics of early education

Econ grad student awarded Charles Lave Paper prize for examining the effect of pre-K programs on cognitive and non-cognitive ability

Delayed grad-ification

Mini commencement re-created for scholar-athlete who missed June ceremony for eyesight-saving surgery

Parents Without Papers

Award-winning book by UCI sociologists finds education of Mexican American children and grandchildren suffers substantially when parents can't legalize

Turney named 2016 William T. Grant Scholar

Recognition will fund her research on intergenerational consequences of paternal incarceration

39-cent-per-gallon jet fuel fee would yield $117 million a year in environmental benefits

Surcharge would reduce airline consumption, lower carbon emissions, UCI study finds

Expert On: Environmental economics

Paulina Oliva, UCI associate professor of economics, says air pollution levels at 2016 summer Olympics sites in Brazil can be lethal for infants and elderly

Three UCI sociologists elected to Sociological Research Association

Honor recognizes professors most successful in their field

In memoriam: Carl Schwarz

Long-time political science lecturer in social sciences passes away at 80

mark your calendars

Digital Media and Learning Conference

Oct 5-7, 2016 | UCI Student Center Doheny and Emeral Bay Ballrooms

The 7th annual Digital Media and Learning Conference will be held at UC Irvine this year, Oct. 5-7, and the schedule is full of the biggest names in digital media and learning. Highlights include a keynote address by games and learning expert Constance Steinkuehler; a plenary discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas; and special half- and full-day pre-conference workshops on such topics as civic engagement, designing online courses, digital storytelling, learning analytics, using Minecraft to teach academics and building youth social capital. Online registration...

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