L. Paul Sands III

L. Paul Sands III

Ph.D.

Wake Forest University

Postdoctoral Researcher

Virginia Tech

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Hello, my dissertation research pairs computational modeling of affective human decision-making with within-subject, multi-modal functional human neuroimaging (fMRI and MEG) to study the real-time neurophysiological interactions underlying human choice behavior and subjective feelings. This work leverages fMRI’s high spatial resolution and a model-based analytical design to identify target brain regions for MEG beamforming of event-related neurophysiological activity with millisecond resolution.

I am interested in developing Bayesian methods for studying how neural systems implement subjective belief states and feelings and how they change with experience and in disease states. A broader goal of mine is to use cognitive computational neuroscience to empirically validate and advance the diagnostic nosology for psychiatric disorders of affective decision-making.

Outside of research, I enjoy playing tennis and disc golf most nights of the week, cooking, reading, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. I am an avid collector of books, records, tapes, CDs, and art. I am interested in contemporary tattooing and its history, and I live with two cats.

>> Interests

  • Reinforcement Learning
  • MEG
  • fMRI
  • Voltammetry

>> Education

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Ph.D. in Neuroscience, 2022

Wake Forest University

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B.S. (Honors) in Biochemistry, 2017

The University of the South (Sewanee)