Professor Gregory McCarthy

For Graduate Applicants

I am hoping to recruit one or more graduate students in this coming application cycle for entry in Fall 2015. Students interested in working in my lab can apply to the Graduate Program in Psychology and specify either the Cognitive or Neuroscience program areas. It is a good idea to contact me via email (gregory.mccarthy@yale.edu) to alert me of your interest in my lab. This will ensure that I review your application.

The current research program of my lab is well described under the Research section of this website. My interests are fairly broad, but an enduring theme has been the functional organization of the human brain. A major component of my research program has been how the brain combines information about the surface features of animate entities (such as faces and bodies) with information about the motion of those entities to derive inferences about the intentions of animate agents. However, I have maintained a long term interest in how the brain attempts to protect performance in working memory or other tasks when challenged by emotional stressors.

I also have been interested in clinical neuroscience, and have had a long term interest in morphological and functional changes in the brain that are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have supervised two clinical Ph.D. theses in this area. However, potential applicants who wish to obtain certification as a clinical psychologist must apply to the Clinical program area. 

My lab uses a variety of methods in human neuroscience research including neuroimaging (functional and structural MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging), EEG and ERP from scalp recordings in healthy volunteers, intracranial EEG recording and direct cortical stimulation in patients with epilepsy, eye tracking, and behavioral studies.