Hi Daina, what is your background and job role at AU?

I grew up in Florida as an Italian-American (dual citizen). Both Floridians and Italian-Americans have unique subcultures that are different from the dominant U.S. culture. Growing up as part of these subcultures made me aware, even as a child, that our beliefs, behaviors, and perceptions are largely defined by our social experiences. It ultimately led to my desire to understand culture and my decision to become a Social Neuroscientist.

If you’ve watched The Godfather or The Sopranos, then you’ve seen Hollywood’s portrayal of the darkest side of Italian-American culture. Hollywood isn’t real life of course, but the foods, the dialect, and the mannerisms in these films are roughly accurate. We eat lasagna for Christmas and have gregarious pasta dinners with our relatives on Sundays. Florida’s local culture is perhaps less well-known but still very distinct. It has been influenced by nearby islands, like Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas and has a relaxed beach-vacation vibe in most places. It’s easy to encounter exotic birds, sandy beaches, reggae music, and tacos. People sometimes sail boats alongside dolphins or kayak past alligators. Many industries in Florida are dedicated to tourism, so people who want other careers often leave. Like me.

Growing up in two cultures that are so different from each other made me curious about what the rest of the world was like and also about how our exposure to culture shapes our beliefs, behaviors, and perceptions – or, even more fundamentally, our brains. Following this curiosity, I sought training abroad and completed a Masters degree in Neuroscience in Germany (Institute for Cognitive Science, Universität Osnabrück) and a Masters degree in Culture and Mental Health in the U.K. (Queen Mary, University of London). My Ph.D. studies at McGill University (Integrated Programmed in Neuroscience, Canada) formally combined these research areas. During my studies, I worked on projects in 8 different countries.

During my Masters studies in Germany, I completed a summer course at Aarhus University that was called “Experimental Methods in the Study of Culture and Cognition”. During it, scholars from the Interacting Mind Centre (IMC), whose work I’d read and greatly admired, gave some of the lectures in the course or at special events outside of the course. Research by Andreas Roepstorff, IMC director, especially shaped my thinking during university and learning from him in-person was a cherished experience. It is an honor to work as an Assistant Professor at the IMC now. Returning to a beloved city and research center brings a special comfort – it feels akin to arriving home after a long journey

What are your main areas of research?

At the IMC, my research takes 2 interrelated paths: I am studying how brain activity changes during social interaction and developing methods for studying real-life situations through increasing the naturalism and ecological validity of study designs. To do this, I am using a relatively new neuroimaging device called fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) – it's a very cool device. For the first time in the history of neuroscience, technology can record what is happening in the brain in daily life. Other imaging devices need participants to hold very still doing recording – fNIRS tolerates human movement, like talking and even dancing, so fNIRS gives us many opportunities for discovery.

Thanks to Andreas Roepstorff, we opened Denmark’s first all-ages fNIRS laboratory this past August 2020. The fNIRS devices are wireless and wearable, so we are able to record brain activation while humans interact with each other even outdoors. I’m currently testing protocols for collecting reliable brain measurements across experiments and less-structured naturalistic studies.

Collaboration is key. Social interaction research can be highly interdisciplinary and working with teams who have complimentary skillsets helps optimize the research. The IMC is a wonderful research environment for interdisciplinary collaboration, and I am currently collaborating with multiple affiliates from AU and other universities, including Mathias Clausen, Rebekah Baglini, Anna Ciaunica, and Sheina Lew-Levy. I’m very interested in examining the possibilities of fNIRS and am open to developing new collaborations on novel research topics. The fNIRS devices are also cross-compatible with EEG and eye tracking devices, so they may have relevance for some COBELab users.

Are you involved with any teaching at the moment?

Usually, I teach 1-2 courses each semester for the Cognitive Science program but I am on sabbatical this semester. The students in the Cognitive Science program are brilliant, and I feel very lucky to work with them.

How did you hear about Cognition and Behavior Lab?

COBE Lab’s reputation precedes itself. I heard about COBE Lab even before moving to Denmark. When preparing to begin work at Aarhus University (AU), several colleagues suggested COBE Lab as a good venue for my first experiment.

Have you used the Lab? If so, what are the benefits for researchers?

Following my colleagues’ advice, I ran my first study at COBE Lab shortly after beginning work at AU. It was a wonderful experience. The ethics review committee provided useful feedback that helped to effectively communicate study procedures to research participants and the scheduling system is easy to use. The project that I was running required full anonymization of participants, and the COBE Lab staff helped me develop logistical methods so that the participants could enroll in the study and be paid without violating anonymity. During the study, I was also impressed by the space and technological resources available. I will definitely conduct some of my future studies at COBE Lab, especially when I need a large recruitment pool or to test a group of participants simultaneously.

Is there a particular recommendation you would like to pass on to other researchers? Something you wish you had known before you started, or just a useful trick.

This is a tough question to answer. There’s still so much that I have to learn.

Could you recommend one academic book to fellow colleagues that you think is of great interest?

Even though I am a neuroscientist, Phenomenology of Perception by French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty is among my favorite academic books. As scientists, we know a lot about human psychology and neurobiology, but we are still trying to understand what goes on “inside the head”. Phenomenology of Perception offers a detailed examination of some of the experiences of being human that continue to elude empirical measurement.

Away from your research, what do you enjoy doing?

Learning and exploring! Currently, I’m teaching myself to cook north African tajine recipes, to dance ballet pointe, and to understand films fluently in Italian. Horror movies no longer scare me, so I’ve been exploring horror video games in attempt to achieve the same rush. (It’s not working.) Eating exotic foods is also a favorite past time – if I can find a food that I’ve never eaten, I will go to great lengths to cook or order it. Swedish canned bear meat is the last thing I tried, which was quite good! When there isn’t a global pandemic, I also enjoy adventure travelling, which can take the form of hiking, camping, kayaking, and etc in distant locations. Past trips have included the Brazilian Amazon and the mountains of Norway. I’m hoping to explore the deserts of Jordan and the Icelandic terrain before too long.

Finally, which Associated Researcher would you like to see under 'Spotlight' next time?

Arndis Simonsen, Postdoc, Department of Clinical Medicine - Interacting Minds Centre (IMC) - her work on schizophrenia is brilliant!