Our research in the Medina lab is dedicated to understanding how the mind represents the body. Our work uses a number of different techniques, including functional and structural neuroimaging, brain stimulation (transcranial magnetic stimulation), and behavioral studies. In particular, we are very interested in work using perceptual illusions, along with research understanding brain-damaged individuals and people with various forms of synesthesia.

See below for answers to frequently asked questions.

Are you accepting graduate students this year?

Yes! Our lab is recruiting graduate students for the 2025-26 academic year at Emory University. Prospective students should apply to the cognitive and computational sciences (CCS) concentration in the Department of Psychology. As my research is focused on cognition and perception, so most students apply to the CCS concentration. However, students can also apply to the clinical science (CS) concentration – see below for more details.

Am I a good fit for the lab? Are there lab prerequisites?

In our lab, we work to develop and test new ideas about behavior, cognitive processes and the brain. To do so, one needs to have a strong desire to solve problems and use critical thinking skills to reach logical conclusions. Coding skills, a strong statistics background, and research experience are strongly desirable but not necessary. Applicants should have a strong interest in cognition, attention, perception and/or neuroscience. You do not need to have a specific major – students from all backgrounds are welcome to apply.

More specifically, our lab has focused on understanding how the brain represents the body. This covers a wide range of topics including psychophysical examinations of tactile processing, neural plasticity and interhemispheric processing, understanding how the brain constructs a coherent representation of our bodies, and embodiment. We use a variety of methods: standard cognitive psychological studies (especially with body illusions), brain stimulation (TMS), and my favorite technique – single case cognitive neuropsychology. If you have an interest in these topics and techniques, I encourage you to apply.

What kind of research has your lab done in the past?

Below are some topics our lab has studied, with links to relevant papers.

• Our lab uses perceptual illusions to understand how the brain puts together information from the senses – multisensory integration. Some examples of our work in this domain includes discovering a new variant of the mirror-box illusion that changes the perceived orientation of your body, and research on an illusion that makes you feel like you have six fingers. These illusions can then be used to understand how the brain integrates information across senses (see these papers as examples)
• We are particularly fond of single-case studies of individuals with brain damage to understand cognition. This includes people who experience phantom sensations on both sides when stimulated on one side (either in touch or vision), both single cases and groups who are unable to accurately localize touch after stroke, and other deficits (e.g., optic ataxia, visuospatial neglect, peripheral deafferentation).
• We also do functional neuroimaging with both brain-damaged and neurologically-intact individuals. This work includes examining how damage to somatosensory cortex affects motor processing in the brain, and understand how body position influences processing in primary somatosensory cortex.
• Our lab has worked to develop theories of body perception. Some of this is covered in our review papers on the body schema, errors in body processing, and types of body representation.
• We have examined how vision influence tactile processing. This includes tactile psychophysical studies, along with studies of individuals with mirror-touch synesthesia, a condition in which people feel touch on their own bodies when seeing touch on someone else.
• Finally, we are interested in replicability in cognitive neuroscience. We found inappropriate usage of statistical tests in voxel-based lesion symptom mapping. We also found no evidential value in past studies examining whether transcranial direct current stimulation – a form of brain stimulation – influences cognition.

A list of published manuscripts can be found on the publications page.

What is your lab currently working on?

Below are a few of the questions our lab is currently working on:

• How can illusions (e.g. the mirror box illusion, rubber hand illusion, etc.) inform us as to how the brain represents the body?
• What is “embodiment”? What processes are involved in embodying objects that are not ours? How are these processes influenced by vision (e.g. using mirror boxes and/or virtual reality)?
• How does the brain reorganize after stroke? And how does this reorganization relate to behavioral outcomes?
• How does the brain solve the problem of multisensory integration – specifically with regards to the body?
• What are the limitations of current practices in brain stimulation?
• How can individuals with synesthesia (mirror-touch, grapheme-color) inform cognitive models?

Before I apply, can I contact you to ask questions about the lab?

Yes – via email. However, please note that I typically do not meet with prospective students before the interview process (as it can potentially provide an unfair advantage, or disadvantage, to students who have a pre-interview discussion).

As a new graduate student, what should I expect?

In the first year, I usually have multiple projects that students can get started on when they begin in the lab. My ultimate goal as a mentor is to train graduate students to become independent scientists who generate their own hypotheses to test. Over time, we will work together towards developing your understanding of the literature and experimental design so that you will become an independent scientist.

What is your mentorship style?

Typically, I interact with students in the lab throughout the week, as well as more formally in a weekly group lab meeting and weekly individual meetings with each graduate student. In these meetings, I will hear your progress on the projects you are working on and will ask guiding questions to help move the projects forward. I will point you towards the existing literature on the topic, but I will also ask you to go beyond published research towards defending your own new ideas. As a developing independent scientist, you should be coming up with your own research questions and experimental designs. My expectation is that graduate students will run studies from start to finish – from question development to data analysis to writing (and publishing!) a manuscript.

Why should I join your lab?

Good question! First, I believe that the research we do is fun, unique and intellectually rewarding. Perceptual illusions are “cool” – I really enjoy just observing the reaction of someone after we create the sensation of a sixth finger (Anne Boleyn illusion) or feel their body in one place/position when they “know” that not to be true (our mirror box research). Examining individuals with different types of synesthesia demonstrate the variability and diversity in human perception. And working with individuals with brain damage is fascinating – we are presented with the puzzle of someone’s deficit and then have to engage in detective work to figure out what is going on. In all of these examples, the work is challenging and involves significant amounts of thinking and effort. In the end, our hope is that it will lead to a better understanding of (a very small part of) the human condition.

Furthermore, as a graduate student you will learn skills in critical thinking, statistical analysis, scientific writing that you can carry in a future career in academia or industry.

Do I need to take the GRE to apply?

Currently, GRE scores are optional for applying to our graduate program at Emory. That said, I strongly encourage you to take the GRE and submit your GRE scores if you are applying for my lab.

I am applying for the clinical science (CS) concentration. What should I know?

Students can apply for my lab and be in the clinical science concentration. Students in this concentration receive training as a clinical scientist and are eligible to apply for licensure as a clinical psychologist after graduation. These students have additional requirements, including an APA-CoA accredited internship.

Overall, my research is focused on cognition and perception, and a significant amount of the research is not with brain-damaged individuals. Students in my lab need to have a strong interest in doing research on perception and cognition. Furthermore, note that our research is not translational or clinical (i.e., focused on developing treatments), but is instead focused on understanding basic mechanisms.

I want to be a clinical neuropsychologist. Do you have a clinical neuropsychology program in the Emory psychology department?

No. Some of my research is in cognitive neuropsychology – using evidence from brain-damaged individuals to understand how the mind work. Clinical neuropsychology is different as it is focused on assessment and intervention. I am a cognitive neuropsychologist. If you are interested in training in clinical neuropsychology, here is a list of clinical psychology Ph.D. programs.

Where can I get more information on how to apply?

See this page.