I am a cognitive scientist with a focus on memory, which I explore using a broad range of behavioral research methods. This includes behavioral experiments, brain imaging (fMRI and EEG), computational toolboxes, and qualitative research approaches. I am particularly interested in what factors makes some experiences more memorable than others and how these influences can manifest in future behavior, such as decision making. I also specialize in characterizing inter-individual differences in brain morphology.
Most of my research investigates the complex ways in which motivation-related constructs, such as emotion and reward, shape memory. For instance, I have explored how emotional events are more likely to be remembered, yet emotion can also cause memory impairments and distortions. A key area of my research is the ‘extreme-outcome rule,’ which explains how the most extreme outcomes, both positive and negative, are disproportionately weighted in memory and decision making. Additional research questions in this domain address how emotional arousal affects different memory systems, such as episodic memory and operant conditioning, and how these effects are mediated by neural activity in the hippocampus and related structures. While my research primarily focuses on behavioral research questions, I additionally use eyetracking, psychophysiology, fMRI, EEG, brain stimulation, and computational modeling where relevant.
Chen, Y. Y., Lambert, K. J. M., Madan, C. R., & Singhal, A. (2024). Motor-related oscillations reveal the involvement of sensorimotor processes during recognition memory. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 216, 108003. doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2024.108003
Bowen, H. J. & Madan, C.R. (in press). Untangling the threads of motivated memory: Independent influences of reward and emotion. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. doi:10.3758/s13423-024-02546-9
Fowler, Z., Palombo, D. J., Madan, C. R., & O'Connor, B. B. (2024). The future we imagine together: The role of collaborative imagination in forming relationships. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(25), e2318292121. doi:10.1073/pnas.2318292121
Wardell, V., Jameson, T. J., Bontkes, O. J. R., Le, M. L., Duan, T., St Jacques, P. L., Madan, C. R.*, Palombo, D. J.* (2023). Fade in, fade out: Do shifts in visual perspective predict the consistency of real-world memories? Psychological Science, 34(8), 932-946. doi:10.1177/09567976231180588
Madan, C. R. (2023). Memory and consciousness--usually in tandem but sometimes apart. Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, 36(2), 128-131. doi:10.1097/WNN.0000000000000337
Mason, A., Ludvig, E. A., Spetch, M. L., & Madan, C. R. (2024). Rare and extreme outcomes in risky choice. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 31(3), 1301-1308. doi:10.3758/s13423-023-02415-x
Palombo, D. J., Te, A. A.*, Checknita, K. J.*, & Madan, C. R. (2021). Exploring the facets of emotional episodic memory: Remembering 'what', 'when', and 'which'. Psychological Science, 32(7), 1104-1114. doi:10.1177/0956797621991548
Madan, C. R., Spetch, M. L., Machado, F. D. S., Mason, A., & Ludvig, E. A. (2021). Encoding context determines risky choice. Psychological Science, 32(5), 743-754. doi:10.1177/0956797620977516
Structural MRIs make it apparent that there are both clear inter-individual differences in brain structure, while also general population consistencies. Examining brain morphology can serve as a complementary neuroimaging approach to fMRI that is not influenced by some systematic biases (e.g., age-related changes in vasculature) while also potentially directly providing novel insights into brain-behavior relationships.
Wang, Y., Leiberg, K., Kindred, N., Madan, C. R, Poirer, C., Petkov, C. I., Taylor, P. N., & Mota, B. C. C. (2024). Neuro-evolutionary evidence for a universal fractal primate brain shape. eLife, 12, 92080. doi:10.7554/eLife.92080
Liu, Y. S., Baxi, M., Madan, C. R., Zhan, K., Makris, N., Rosene, D. L., Killiany, R. J., Cetin-Karayumak, S., Pasternak, O., Kubicki, M., & Cao, B. (2024). Brain age of rhesus macaques over the lifespan. Neurobiology of Aging, 139, 73-81. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.02.014
Kahhale, I., Buser, N., Madan, C. R., & Hanson, J. L. (2023). Quantifying numerical and spatial reliability of amygdala and hippocampal subdivisions in FreeSurfer. Brain Informatics, 10, 9. doi:10.1186/s40708-023-00189-5
Meregalli, V.*, Alberti, F.*, Madan, C. R., Meneguzzo, P., Miola, A., Trevisan, N., Sambataro, F., Favaro, A., & Collantoni, E. (2022). Cortical complexity estimation using fractal dimension: A systematic review of the literature on clinical and nonclinical samples. European Journal of Neuroscience, 55(6), 1547-1583. doi:10.1111/ejn.15631
Wearn, A. R., Nurdal, V., Saunders-Jennings, E., Knight, M. J., Madan, C. R., Fallon, S.-J., Isotalus, H. K., Kauppinen, R. A., & Coulthard, E. J. (2021). T2 heterogeneity as an in vivo marker of microstructural integrity in medial temporal lobe subfields in ageing and mild cognitive impairment. NeuroImage, 238, 118214. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118214
McDonough, I. M., & Madan, C. R. (2021). Structural complexity is negatively associated with brain activity: A novel multimodal test of compensation theories of aging. Neurobiology of Aging, 98, 185-196. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.10.023
An important aspect of research is to improve our methodological rigor, along with asking more precise research questions. Through collaborations, I have also done work where my primary goal has been to improve the research methods themselves--either as the direct goal (e.g., developing a novel test of movement imagery) or indirectly (e.g., designing psychophysics stimuli; using formal model selection techniques to more precisely test research questions).
I enjoy the problem solving associated with developing new research methods to further the research programmes of my colleagues.
For more details on projects explicitly designed for methods development, see here.
Madan, C. R. (2024). “What will you do after?”: Lessons from Academia and the World Beyond. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77(12), 2385-2390. doi:10.1177/17470218241236144
McDonald, S., Reid, A., & Madan, C. R. (2024). Supporting student learning in research methods and statistics in psychology through authentic assessment. Open Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 79-101. doi:10.56230/osotl.104
Dev, D. K.*, Wardell, V.*, Checknita, K. J., Te, A. A., Petrucci, A. S., Le, M. L., Madan, C. R., & Palombo, D. J. (2022). Negative emotion enhances memory for the sequential unfolding of a naturalistic experience. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 11(4), 510-521. doi:10.1037/mac0000015
Jay, R., Patel, R., Madan, C. R., & Hagan, P. (2023). A phenomenological exploration of the feedback experience of medical students after summative exam failure. BMC Medical Education, 23, 930. doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04892-z
Thompson, B., Madan, C. R., & Patel, R. (2022). Investigating cognitive factors and diagnostic error in a presentation of complicated multisystem disease. Diagnosis, 9(2), 199-206. doi:10.1515/dx-2021-0072
Madan, C. R., & Singhal, A. (2021). Convergent and distinct effects of multisensory combination on statistical learning using a computer glove. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 599125. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599125
Chen, Y. Y.*, Lambert, K.*, Madan, C. R., & Singhal, A. (2021). Mu oscillations and motor imagery performance: A reflection of intra-individual success, not inter-individual ability. Human Movement Science, 78, 102819. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2021.102819
Wardell, V., Esposito, C. L., Madan, C. R., & Palombo, D. J. (2021). Semi-automated transcription and scoring of autobiographical memory narratives. Behavior Research Methods, 53(2), 507-517. doi:10.3758/s13428-020-01437-w