Tag Archives: mental health

The Princeton Lab That Can Read Your Mind

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By Kaden Paz Leyva

The Princeton Social Neuroscience lab is tucked into the basement of the Peretsman Scully Hall.

Inside, the lab has enough space for two people to be scanned at the same time as they talk, argue and laugh about their moments together. On the other side of the room with a computer system, a researcher charts their brain activity over time, searching for the moments when the two minds move together and the moments when they become disconnected.

The intensity of this work is deserving of the lab’s unofficial motto: “Your brain is on my mind.”

The lab studies and specializes in how people understand their own minds and that of others. Their research includes guessing what a friend is thinking and the tension one feels with a stranger. But the researchers themselves say that the lab is not only trying to answer the neurosociological questions of the mind. It’s also trying to make their research reach beyond academia, in language and in papers that people beyond the field may be interested to read. This makes the lab one-of-a-kind. 

The goal of their distinctive work, hyperscanning, lies at the center of the lab. It works by placing two people in the MRI machine simultaneously. There, these two people have a conversation and talk about issues in their relationship. Meanwhile, their brains are being measured mid-conversation. Princeton’s building layout allows researchers to run both MRIs simultaneously.

Graduate student Yeaju Kim said the hyperscanning is what drew her to work on the lab in the first place. “I was interested in human social interaction because I thought that the most human thing we could do was talk to each other,” said Kim. “We have our own language and I think that’s a really unique characteristic of our lives.” Watching two people’s brain’s activity align, she said, reveals things much deeper than physical mimicry. It is the moment of synchronization that goes beyond simply moving or speaking the same way. According to Kim, the lab examines “the way to understand the way you think and how others think.”

The research divides the brain scans into roughly 8,000 tiny 3D units called voxels and compares them across two people to see where brain activity overlaps. When researchers overlap the two scans on a 3D scan, it creates zones using different shades of red. Areas of the brain that appear darker means that the two people share similar patterns in their brains. That’s usually seen more between friends than between strangers. 

The process is slow and exacting. Researchers need around 100 hours of running code with the data before beginning to analyze it. Since the lab’s coding platform is prone to breaking down, those in the lab have to learn code from scratch to be able to continue with analysis. 

Through having to monitor simultaneous MRIs, keeping participants still through the scan and making participants comfortable even though they can not see each other’s faces, it’s an intricate process. Kim still said watching the data come together makes the work rewarding. This gives her a rare and thorough window into how people connect. 

Lab manager Amy Nguyen came to the lab with experience largely in developmental and clinical psychology. Nguyen’s outside perspective has shaped how she will communicate and publish the lab’s findings in a language that will be understandable both to people who aren’t already a genius in the field and to those who are an expert.

Researchers in the lab are careful to note that basic science like this isn’t exactly designed to produce immediate applications in the real world. But Nguyen said the couple’s research could eventually help bring different approaches to relationships.

The willingness to explain and look into a more iterative side of research alongside the big findings of a lab is part of what researchers say sets the lab apart. As Nguyen put it, most people seem to picture a wet lab for dissection when they think of neuroscience, not realizing how much of the work is coding, math and careful design.

As the lab continues to study how two minds can be studied at once, the researchers say the bigger goal hasn’t changed: understanding not just how people think but how they think about each other, and making sure that understanding doesn’t stay locked inside a lab.

At Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab, Your Brain is on Their Mind

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By Angie Sepulveda

As you enter the dimly-lit and scary room, you prepare mentally for the dissection of your brain. You are dressed in white hospital clothes with medical patches attached to various sorts of wires all over your head. The needle slowly approaches your brain to initiate your lobotomy. You are an incoming neuroscience subject for research at Princeton, but are you really?

That’s how many people, including seven out of ten Princeton Summer Journal reporters, imagine neuroscience research: like a lobotomy. But the Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab dispels false notions about their profession, showing that neuroscience is simply the study of the brain and nervous system. The social neuroscientists ensure security, confidentiality and accessibility for all who participate in the research they do to further comprehend human interaction and behavioral patterns. According to Yeaju Kim, a rising second-year Ph.D. student at Princeton, this research is a tool to study how others “express thoughts and how broadly we understand others’ thoughts.”

Presently, a select number of Princeton neuroscientists are researching the potential brain scan patterns between a couple’s conversations of conflict. As the consent forms, provided by lab manager Amy Nguyen, describe, the purpose of this research “is to explore how minds synchronize as romantic couples interact with each other.” The methodology that will be utilized to gain understanding in this study will recruit several couples, place them in MRI machines and record the brain patterns shown through two structured conversations. 

Although the term “neuroscience” might inspire wild, hazardous thoughts, the actual research involves a meticulous process that ensures the safety of subjects in various ways. Every step from start to finish is intentional and serves a strong purpose for the study. 

After ensuring the eligibility of potential participants, such as checking for no new piercings, metal parts inside the body or tattoos above the neck, the couple in the study will embark on warm-up tasks before these structured conversations. Some of these warm-up tasks include “answering a brief relationship questionnaire, recording a few baseline opinions and completing simple rating tasks.” 

This neuroscientific approach strives to have “the risks be minimal and the benefits as proximal as it could get.” Potential risks that come to mind include issues regarding the MRI that are, in actuality, completely untrue. While the subject might be questioning if they have any metal on them, the neuroscientists initiate the safety steps of checking various times with metal detector doors and past medical records. MRI machines often create loud, thudding noises. Instead of enduring this irritating noise, the research subjects in the MRI have specialized headphones with microphones. 

If a participant is still feeling anxious after going through the safety protocols, check-ups and potential opt-out are always available. Even during the process of the structured conversations, participants can call out to researchers at any time they might feel uncomfortable. In case of any potential harm, the neuroscientists show through their consent form they provide well-being resources so participants can “feel okay mentally and emotionally.” 

When it comes to confidentiality, the neuroscientists ensure that all data published cannot be traced back to the participant, meaning no identifying factors will be revealed. While visiting the research lab, all participants’ information was covered to protect their privacy. In fact, after the research is published, the participant is able to request, via email, a three-dimensional scan of their brain. 

Princeton neuroscientists ensure confidentiality and security, both mentally and physically, to obtain findings that aid the comprehension of human interaction and behavioral patterns. In addition to appealing to other researchers, they plan to publish their findings in a way accessible to the public. Even in the initial process of signing the consent forms, all information is made accessible to participants and broken down in simpler terms. Accessibility is a big priority throughout the entirety of the research project.

Neuroscience is not the dissection or grilling of the brain. Being part of neuroscience research does not place the participant in any unsafe position. Better yet, it can provide benefits they would not be able to find elsewhere. The misconceptions that easily paint vivid, horrifying pictures often disregard actual neuroscience research, which, as mentioned by Kim, is needed because studying human interaction is “the most human thing that we can do.” 

The next time you hear the term “neuroscience,” remember that no lobotomy is taking place. Rather, progress is being made towards further comprehension of our own selves.

The Potential Project: A Space for Mourning and Imagination

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By Brianna A.

The board in Bentrice Jusu’s studio room is covered in faces, some smiling, some impassive, but all still in time. Every photograph on the wall has its own story that was cut short. Each of a person lost to gun violence, their potential never reached. Yet for Bentrice Jusu, their stories haven’t ended, instead taking a new form, as she spins tragedy into something beautiful and inspiring. 

Bentrice Jusu, a Trenton-based artist, educator, and firefighter, is working on her latest endeavor, The Potential Project, a mixed-media memorial that transforms grief into public art and interactive digital storytelling. Her mission is simple: to acknowledge the stories and lives of those who have been lost to violence and to heal the community. 

Back in 2016, Jusu survived the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest attack on LGBTQ+ people in U.S. history. It was her birthday. She was supposed to be celebrating. Instead, 49 people were murdered that night. Jusu lived, but the experience stayed inside her.

“That was one of the main reasons this whole thing started,” Jusu says. 

Three months later, back home in Trenton, one of her students, 16-year-old Jahday Twisdae, was shot and killed. Another life cut short. Another future and potential unrealized. 

“From love and existence to the actual state of Trenton, New Jersey, the amount of deaths that were faced,” Jusu says. “So you’ll see Jahday is the start of this work.” 

Today, a yellow portrait of Jahday Twisdae sits outside Jusu’s studio room door to be visualized with the new app Artivive. Twisdae’s image is joined by many others. Yellow squares with faces reveal videos, audio clips, photos, and memories recorded—making the once two-dimensional art more alive and personal.

Bentrice Jusu’s vision is deeply personal, but it doesn’t stand alone. Artists from the community helped bring it to life, each adding their voice and own personal expression of grief, memory, and potential. 

One of those artists is Hana Sabree, a storyteller, writer, and singer, based in Trenton, New Jersey, who has been pursuing her passion of music ever since she was a young girl in grade school.

Sabree recalled her experience in kindergarten, singing a song for the talent show at her school, where she froze in lack of belief in herself. Yet Sabree didn’t give up. She persisted, gaining confidence as she grew. Now she is happy to present something she is enormously proud of.

In the search for other artists, Jusu reached out to Hana Sabree, having known her previously from the art scene in Trenton. Sabree felt excitement and immense pride to be involved in such a project.

In June 2025, Sabree released Just A Lil EP, a three-song offering of tender, soul-healing belief, love, and vulnerability through warm melodies and heartfelt lyrics. 

Sabree hopes her work inspires people to believe in themselves. “I think what I want people to feel is the strength that’s within them,” she says. “Continue to have faith.”

Her work, like the exhibit itself, exists in that in-between space: In the questions we ask when we walk through it, how we hold both sorrow and possibility in the same breath.

Through visuals, sound, and writing, The Potential Project becomes more than an art installation. It becomes a mirror for the city’s grief and a gesture of love back to it. With artists like Bentrice Jusu, Hana Sabree, Umar Alim (Big Ooh), Jennet Jusu, Raven George, Aslin Laureano, Terra Applegate, and Dean “RAS” Innocenzi, at its core, the project doesn’t just preserve memory. It transforms it. And it reminds us that healing isn’t about forgetting.

The Potential Project doesn’t shy away from the hardest parts of grief. It asks viewers to confront what we lose when a life is taken. That’s what The Potential Project ultimately offers: Not just remembrance, but space. A space for mourning, imagination, and art. A place for holding up the lives lost to violence not only as tragedies, but as reminders of what could have been, what still can be, and the potential in ourselves if we choose to see it.

Pandemic Boosts Pet Adoptions

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Credit_ Laura Wagner image7Jake, a Jindo terrier mix, has been treated to longer walks with his owner, Laura Wagner, during the pandemic. (Photo by Laura Wagner)

By Chastina Simmons and Sarah Furtado

Stone Mountain, Ga. and Vero Beach, Fla.

The global pandemic caused by the coronavirus has hit everyone like a truck. Health scares, quarantines, and school closings are changing the lives of millions of humans. But there is another, less-talked about population that’s also being affected: pets.

Right now, because of quarantine, many people are stuck at home with more free time than we used to have. Many are filling this void by adopting pets.

“They’re flying out the doors, not in,” said Jill Van Tuyl, the director of shelter operations at SAVE, a shelter for homeless dogs and cats in Skillman, New Jersey. From her experience, she noted that more people are considering adopting cats and dogs during the pandemic.

“Because of COVID and so many adoptions, right now, a good portion of my day is dedicated to scheduling transports to bring animals in and also reviewing adoption applications for potential adopters,” Van Tuyl said. Both sides benefit: The new owners get an addition to the family, and these animals get a start to a new, and most likely better, life.

Credit_ @furio_gram on Insta 1

Furio, a Shiba Inu mix, lives with Kate Knibbs in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Photo by Kate Knibbs)

Laura Wagner and Kate Knibbs of Brooklyn, New York, have recently adopted puppies during this pandemic. However, the process of adopting their pets wasn’t easy. According to Wagner, “because everyone was trying to adopt dogs during quarantine, it was really difficult to get a dog or even get an interview with the various different rescues in Brooklyn.”

Although the adoption process was lengthy, both owners thought the pets were worth it.

In addition to offering companionship, Wagner said that having a dog helped her physical health. Every morning, Wagner takes her Jindo terrier mix, Jake, for a long walk.

“I went from averaging 700 steps a day to averaging 15,000 steps a day,” she said. “Your physical health is tied to your mental health, so definitely being more active is good.” She also noted that just cuddling with her dog during her breaks helped lift her mood.

Knibbs’ Shiba Inu mix, Furio, also keeps her spirits lifted despite demanding quite a bit of work. “I mean, it’s pretty hard to stay in bed when there’s this incredibly cute creature who needs your attention,” she said.

Cute creatures don’t just include dogs.

Credit_ @freddieyourbeardie on Insta

Zimmerman’s bearded dragon, Freddie, sunbathing. (Photo by Kier Zimmerman)

During these long, lonely months of quarantine, Kier Zimmerman was thankful to have a new bearded dragon lizard as a friend. “They like to be cuddled, they like to hang out. They’re very social, and they’re very easy,” said Zimmerman, a recent Harvard graduate cooped up at their parents’ home in Minnesota.

Their lizard, Freddie, has a compact build, a sand-colored complexion, and an apparent love of the TV show “American Horror Story.” “He will fall asleep on me or in my hand a lot, which is very cute,” Zimmerman said. “And he nuzzles into the corner of my hand and tries to bury himself in there.”

In a world in turmoil, these pets offer refuge to their owners. That’s apparent watching Zimmerman and Freddie. Zimmerman cradled their bearded dragon and reassured him: “Calm down. It’s OK.”

Finding The Silver Lining In A Global Pandemic

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photo-1588612005960-a382b1eca714Image created by Daniel Barreto

By Alyssa Ultreras

Oakland, Calif.

Late in March, COVID-19 abruptly stopped everyone’s schedules, plans, and events across the nation. The global pandemic put families through struggles regarding finance, access, and opportunity. Through this pandemic, the media has also shed light on the disproportionate hardships faced by people of color.

Yet despite all the turmoil people have faced during this time, many have been inspired. Some have started a small business, become more educated, become advocates, or taken other action to help people in their communities.

Living through this time, and witnessing all the tragedy as well as the glory that has risen through it, I have been inspired to reevaluate the way I spend my time.

Before quarantine, I worked non-stop with my school schedule, extracurriculars, jobs, and household responsibilities. I was exhausted, unable to realize that I was devoting time to people and commitments that did not make me happy anymore. I was a lit flame burning myself to ashes, taking on too much out of a feeling of obligation that’s common among high school juniors.

Now when I look back on those pre-pandemic times, I know why I thought this way. Like a college freshman, a person transitioning to find a job, or a person seeking a higher position in their field, I was suffering from a lack of balance.

As I was burning out at the end of the first semester, I watched a Ted Talk by Shonda Rhimes. She explained how she felt burned out because massive production and success led to a loss of family time. I could only relate from afar because I did not have a daughter as she does. However, I do have a family. I do have a younger sibling who looked up to me as an older sister, only to see me come home after a long day too tired to play with her.

As Rhimes says, “Work doesn’t work without play.”

Rhimes argues for spending more time with who or what brings balance to work. And so, once quarantine came and my entire life was put on pause, I had time to reconnect with myself and find the balance to my work.

It took a global pandemic to allow the world around me to stop and give me a chance to realize this. As young advocates are helping to change the world, seizing the moment and rising in this dark time, we all must strive to find the balance between work and play if we want to persevere during this pandemic and come out the other side stronger.