Memory Matters

Senior Krystle Edwards ’10 and Dr. Gale Roid collaborate on research for a book on psychology and special education.

By SCOTT A. THOMPSON

Senior Krystle Edwards ’10 received a crash course in the art and science of analyzing brain scans as part of a collaboration with Dr. Gale Roid for an upcoming book about psychology and special education. Edwards is a dual neuroscience and human biology major, and Roid serves as the college’s Director of Institutional Assessment. They presented a case study of a 33-year-old Oregon woman who had suffered severe brain damage in a car accident thirteen years before, while in college. The woman survived, but her injuries forced her to quit school.

Edwards and Roid’s final paper will be a chapter in a book entitled “Comprehensive evaluations by experts in psychology and special education,” edited by N. Mather & L. Jaffe and published by John Wiley & Sons (New York).

“The purpose of the assessment was to see how much [the subject] had regained and whether she could start college again,” said Roid, who holds a doctorate in Psychology from the University of Oregon.

In the study, Roid administered a series of intelligence tests with the subject, including the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (the Fifth Edition), which he helped develop. The woman had trouble retrieving words and difficulty with her short term memory. However, she proved above average in reasoning and near average in reading.

Later, Edwards analyzed electronic scans of the woman’s brain to identify areas of activity and inactivity. She specifically looked at Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, or SPECT, scans taken seven years following the initial accident. Because the SPECT scans are a newer technology, Edwards had to do research on her own in order to interpret the scans accurately. The clinic in Tacoma, Wash. that conducted the scans was a valuable resource, not to mention the experience she had gained in her neuroscience coursework at WP.

“I was able to develop a layman interpretation of the scans and then relate them to what the neurologists said from the clinic,” said Edwards. “What is amazing is how much [the subject] was able to get back after the accident.”

Roid and Edwards concluded that the woman had recovered enough cognitive function to warrant an attempt at returning to school. Edwards is hoping the research experience will bolster her own chances of continuing her education in a Ph.D. program or medical school once she graduates in May.

“This was a hands on opportunity to put what I’ve learned to use and to also get out there and learn some more on my own,” she said.