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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Fernando Aguilar Ortega</title>
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<a class="navbar-brand brand" href="index.html"><h4>Fernando Aguilar Ortega</h4></a>
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<a class="nav-link" href="research.html">Research </a>
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<a class="nav-link" href="publications.html">Publications </a>
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<a class="nav-link" href="cv.html">CV </a>
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<a class="nav-link" href="teaching.html">Teaching </a>
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<a class="nav-link" href="mentoring.html">Mentoring </a>
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<a href ="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/"><img class="form-inline mt-2 mt-md-0" src=""></img></a>
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<h1><strong> My Research Experience </strong> </h1>
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<h2 class="featurette-heading-right">Heilbronner Lab <span class="text-muted">and the posteromedial cortex!</span> </h2>
<p class="featurette-style-right">My research focuses on the anatomical cortico-striatal connectivity of the posteromedial cortex (PMC) across species, specifically in macaques. The PMC, an essential but understudied brain region, has recently gained attention for its role in functional connectivity, particularly as a hub in the default mode network (DMN). In my study, I employ tract tracing and tractography techniques to better understand the PMC's connectivity and its relevance to various brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, ADHD, autism, depression, and schizophrenia. By examining the PMC in macaques, my research aims to bridge the gap between in vivo imaging and ex vivo tract-tracing, providing valuable insights into the human brain's mesoscale anatomy.
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<h2 class="featurette-heading-right">Lee Lab <span class="text-muted">and DeepLabCut!</span> </h2>
<p class="featurette-style-right">As a member of the Lee Lab, I took part in several research projects focused on the sensory mechanism of Ormia ochracea, a small parasitoid fly known for its exceptional ability to localize sound sources. Our research aimed to better understand the mechanisms underlying this ability and potentially apply this knowledge to develop novel auditory devices or systems. Our research methodologies included psychophysical experiments, field playback experiments, neural recordings, and biophysical measurements of both the flies and cricket's auditory periphery. We sought to gain a comprehensive understanding of the auditory system of Ormia ochracea and the related ecological interactions. During the course of our research, we utilized DeepLabCut, a deep learning-based animal pose estimation tool, to quantify the behavior of the flies and crickets. This technology allowed us to precisely track and analyze the movements and postures of our subjects, which proved invaluable in understanding their sensory mechanisms and behaviors. Our findings and progress were presented at the Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium at St. Olaf College, where we shared our insights with fellow researchers and received valuable feedback that helped to further refine our research direction and objectives.
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<h2 class="featurette-heading-right">Dill Macky Lab <span class="text-muted">and loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay</span> </h2>
<p class="featurette-style-right"> I focused on investigating various pathogens affecting cereal plants, with a particular emphasis on Bacterial Leaf Streak, a disease affecting wheat and caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa. This disease can have a considerable impact on crop yield and quality, making it essential to develop strategies for its management. During my time at the lab, I executed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays using DNA extractions from leaf tissues. This method enabled rapid and accurate identification of the presence of the pathogen in plant samples, providing valuable information for further research and potential management approaches. In addition, I measured and analyzed bacterial and fungal diseases affecting cereal plants using Duveiller's method (Duveiller, 1992). This technique allowed us to quantify the severity and impact of these diseases, helping to prioritize resources and develop targeted control measures. My research also involved studying different pathogens found in cereal plants, such as Fusarium Head Blight, Net Blotch, and Oat Smut. Understanding the complex relationships between these pathogens and their host plants is crucial for developing effective disease management strategies.
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<h4 class="featurette-heading">Heilbronner Lab <span class="text-muted"></span></h4>
<p class="featurette-style">Interested in the Neuroscience of Addiction? Consider attending the <a href="https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/mnsan2022/home">Minnesota Symposium on Addiction Neuroscience (MnSAN)</a>, The one-day conference will bring together fundamental scientists, clinician-scientists, and others to discuss the most recent and exciting advances in addiction brain research. Dr. Rajita Sinha, Foundations Fund Endowed Professor in Psychiatry and Professor in Neuroscience and Child Study at Yale University School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker for the scientific program. Presentations will focus on how addiction and recovery alter the brain circuits that drive emotions, motives, and decision-making, with an eye on how neurocircuit research might guide the development of new, more effective addiction treatments.
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<h4 class="featurette-heading">Lee Lab <span class="text-muted"></span></h4>
<p class="featurette-style">Interested in the Neuroscience of Addiction? Consider attending the <a href="https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/mnsan2022/home">Minnesota Symposium on Addiction Neuroscience (MnSAN)</a>, The one-day conference will bring together fundamental scientists, clinician-scientists, and others to discuss the most recent and exciting advances in addiction brain research. Dr. Rajita Sinha, Foundations Fund Endowed Professor in Psychiatry and Professor in Neuroscience and Child Study at Yale University School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker for the scientific program. Presentations will focus on how addiction and recovery alter the brain circuits that drive emotions, motives, and decision-making, with an eye on how neurocircuit research might guide the development of new, more effective addiction treatments.
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<h4 class="featurette-heading">Dill Macky Lab <span class="text-muted"></span></h4>
<p class="featurette-style">Interested in the Neuroscience of Addiction? Consider attending the <a href="https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/mnsan2022/home">Minnesota Symposium on Addiction Neuroscience (MnSAN)</a>, The one-day conference will bring together fundamental scientists, clinician-scientists, and others to discuss the most recent and exciting advances in addiction brain research. Dr. Rajita Sinha, Foundations Fund Endowed Professor in Psychiatry and Professor in Neuroscience and Child Study at Yale University School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker for the scientific program. Presentations will focus on how addiction and recovery alter the brain circuits that drive emotions, motives, and decision-making, with an eye on how neurocircuit research might guide the development of new, more effective addiction treatments.
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I seek to transform education by investigating evidence-based learning techniques. My research encompasses multiple strategies and subject domains, including: (1) retrieval practice on facts, paired and triple associates, vocabulary, and other materials; (2) interleaved practice and foreign language learning; (3) spelling instruction with children and adults; and (4) sleep and procedural skills. Collectively, this work is building a toolbox of techniques that accelerates the efficiency and efficacy of student learning.
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<h2><strong>Retrieval Practice</strong></h2>
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<p>Taking a practice quiz or test, also called retrieval practice, does not just assess memory; it strengthens it. My research on retrieval practice—one of the most promising techniques in learning science today—goes beyond the empirical “retrieval practice effect” and investigates its scope, its underlying mechanisms, and its ability to yield transferrable learning. This includes work on individual differences in memory ability and retrieval practice (Pan, Pashler, Potter, & Rickard, <i>Journal of Memory and Language</i>, 2015), one of the first quantitative models of retrieval practice effects (Rickard & Pan, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2017), and a comprehensive meta-analytic review of over 40 years (192 experimental comparisons, 67 papers, and > 10,300 subjects) of retrieval practice and transfer research (Pan & Rickard, under review).</p>
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<p>Instructors often aim for learning to transfer, or generalize, to different contexts. Whether retrieval practice supports transfer has long been an open question. In the first research on this issue involving triple associate words (e.g., “desk-paper-ink”), I discovered that retrieval practice on a word from a triple associate (e.g., “desk”) enhances recall for that word but not unpracticed words (e.g., “ink”). This lack of transfer (Pan, Wong, Potter, Mejia, & Rickard, <i>Memory & Cognition</i>, 2016) identifies an important boundary condition of the technique, helps elucidate its underlying mechanisms, and has practical implications: students should expect strong but selective benefits, particularly when learning related words or concepts. I have extended this line of work to Advanced Placement History and Biology facts (Pan, Gopal, & Rickard, <i>Journal of Educational Psychology</i>, 2015), term-definition facts (Pan & Rickard, <i>Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied</i>, 2017), and a comparison of paired and triple associates (Rickard & Pan, in preparation).
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<h2><strong>Interleaved Practice</strong></h2><br/>
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<p>Learning two or more skills or concepts at a time by alternating between them during training (e.g., given concepts A, B and C, using an ABCABC schedule) yields benefits over conventional blocked practice (e.g., using an AABBCC schedule) for motor skills, visual category learning, and math. However, research on educational uses of this technique, called interleaved practice, is still in its infancy (Pan, <i>Scientific American</i>, 2015). For example, there has been little evidence that interleaved practice benefits language learning. In one the first studies to address this issue, I investigated the effectiveness of interleaving vs. blocking for learning Spanish verb conjugation skills (i.e., specifying the correct verb ending for a given pronoun verb/tense combination in either the preterite or imperfect tenses). When training occurred in a single session, interleaving yielded learning that was on par or reduced relative to blocking; when interleaved occurred across two sessions of training, it yielded large benefits over blocking (Pan, Tajran, Lovelett, Osuna, & Rickard, under review). This suggests that spaced practice, which is an inherent component of interleaving, may be a key contributor to its learning benefits for foreign language learning.
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<h2><strong>Spelling Skill Learning</strong></h2>
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<p>In 400 years of spelling instruction, minimal research on the efficacy of different methods has occurred under controlled conditions--until now. My investigations of a series of techniques has yielded data on “what works” for the acquisition of this important skill In two large-scale college classroom studies, I found that copying, retrieval practice, and self-directed study are highly effective for teaching adults to spell (Pan, Rubin, & Rickard, <i>Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied</i>, 2015), while reading and recitation are not (Pan & Rickard, in preparation). Research conducted in elementary school classrooms in collaboration with Angela Jones and John Dunlosky of Kent State University has found that retrieval practice boosts 1st grade spelling skills by over 300% and surpasses an increasingly used method called “rainbow writing” (Jones, Wardlow, Pan, Zepeda, Heyman, Dunlosky, & Rickard, <i>Educational Psychology Review</i>, 2015). All of these findings are of the utmost importance for how spelling should be taught. Accordingly, I am now working on a comparison of modern research findings with historical spelling instructional recommendations (Pan, Rickard, & Bjork, in preparation).
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<h2><strong>Sleep and Procedural Skills</strong></h2>
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<p>As part of an additional research direction targeting sleep and procedural learning, I recently published a meta-analysis of sleep and motor skills (Pan & Rickard, <i>Psychological Bulletin</i>, 2015). By performing a meta-regression analysis on a quarter-century of research (88 experimental groups, > 1,200 subjects), I found that, despite what many neuroscience textbooks suggest, there is no evidence for sleep-dependent motor learning mechanisms. Instead, the literature favors a supportive memory stabilization role for sleep (for a follow-up report which arrives at the same conclusions, see Rickard & Pan, <i>Psychological Bulletin</i>, 2017). Ongoing work is examining the role of sleep in visual texture discrimination learning (Walker, Pan, Modir, & Rickard, <i>Journal of Vision</i>, 2014).
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<h2><strong>Collaborators</strong></h2>
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Timothy Rickard, University of California, San Diego <br/>
Hal Pashler, University of California, San Diego <br/>
Jim Cooke, University of California, San Diego <br/>
Robert Bjork, University of California, Los Angeles <br/>
Mark McDaniel, Washington University in St. Louis <br/>
John Dunlosky, Kent State University <br/>
Angela Jones, John Carroll University <br/>
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