Yigit Topoglu

• Master of Science
• Research Assistant at Drexel University

Background: Cognitive control (CC) underpins our ability to maintain task focus, update goals, and flexibly shift between strategies, and it is closely tied to prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. Electronic gaming (e-gaming), such as the first-person shooter (FPS) genre, is a specialized domain that demands refined CC skills developed over years of p...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting individuals worldwide and characterized by deficits in social interaction along with the presence of restricted interest and repetitive behaviors. Despite decades of behavioral research, little is known about the brain mechanisms that influence social behaviors among children...

This study investigates prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation patterns during executive control tasks in children with Down syndrome (DS) compared to typically developing (TD) children using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

This study takes a closer look at the prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation patterns during e-gaming sessions, aiming to elucidate the intricate cognitive dynamics and expertise levels inherent in e-gaming performance.

One of the fundamental principles of neuroergonomics is that human cognition is profoundly shaped by the environment in which it operates. In the modern world, this environment can often be highly artificial, noisy, barren, and intentionally distracting. On the other hand, natural environments compare favorably as they may offer not only an appreci...

This study uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore the impact of task load on Verbal and Spatial working memory (WM) in the prefrontal cortex of typically developing children.

To understand how to improve interactions with dog-like robots, we evaluated the importance of “dog-like” framing and physical appearance on interaction, hypothesizing multiple interactive benefits of each. We assessed whether framing Aibo as a puppy (i.e., in need of development) versus simply a robot would result in more positive responses and in...

Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and Sentiment Analysis have become prominent tools in natural language processing applications for both research and industry. While LDA is a generative probabilistic modeling methodology that is widely used in Topic Modeling to extract underlying themes and topics from a collection of words, Sentiment Analysis is...

Video games provide a high-octane competitive sports platform where players with diverse skills engage in tasks that require precise control of cognitive skills and emotional responses. Electrodermal activity (EDA) is a portable, non-invasive, and wearable physiological activity sensing modality that captures correlates of emotional responses. In t...

Much work has been done to engineer robots’ mechanical capabilities to best suit the general demands of their users and tasks. However, minimal research has addressed the impact of individual differences on perceptions of robot trustworthiness. These conclusions can provide guidance to optimize adaptive robotic systems in education, healthcare, and...

A within-subjects experimental design examined differences in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) assessment of prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation with two virtual reality (VR) drawing conditions (rote tracing and creative self-expression) with and without a fragrance stimulus. Participants were healthy adults and included 18 women, 6 men...

The performance of a team is tightly connected to how well its members communicate and collaborate while working towards shared objectives, a process known as group cognition. In competitive team sports, strategic and efficient coordination between team members often makes the difference between success and failure. Professional e-sport gaming, in...

The use of mobile, low-cost, and wearable sensors to measure physiological activity, continuously and non-intrusively during everyday tasks has the potential to improve our understanding of human perception, cognition, and behavior at large. One applied field with the practical use of such expansive assessment is consumer neuroergonomics. In this s...

Visual messaging has been widely researched in psychology and communications specifically within the area of advertising [2, 3]. Such messaging research seeks to identify the characteristics and variables within an advertisement that contribute most to its effectiveness [4]. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the presen...

Understanding how we make decisions has far-reaching practical implications from medicine to marketing as it is a fundamental cognitive construct intertwined in our everyday lives. Even though there is research on the influence of messaging on decision-making behavior, the effects from a psychophysiological perspective have not yet been fully under...

Understanding the impact of messaging on choice from a neural perspective is a major research interest in the fields of cognitive science, psychology, business and communications. In this study, we investigated the impact of a pro-environmental audiovisual message on consumer electricity supply preference as well as the differences in consumer hemo...

Coffee and tea are two of the most popular beverages in the world and have been consumed for more than a thousand years. They have become an integral part of the day for many consumers and may aid not only increased social interactions but also productivity. However, there is no conclusive evidence of their comparative effect on cognitive ability....

Electrodermal activity (EDA) is a portable, non-invasive and wearable sensor that measures skin electrical properties to track correlates of autonomic nervous system activity. Although EDA utilization is sparse compared to some other biomedical signals in ambulatory settings, it can be a potentially helpful adjunct tool in neuroergonomics studies a...

A current trend in food advertising is to emphasize the benefits provided by such products. However, the impact of such messaging on consumer decision-making and cognition is not well understood. Using a new generation of wearable and portable neuroimaging sensors, brain activity can be monitored and used to analyze how consumers respond to product...

Decisional conflict arises when all options of a multiple dimensional decisions task has equal or close to equal expected utility, causing additional mental effort. In this study, we investigated the potential of capturing decisional conflict related mental effort in a realistic complex decision-making task. In a binary choice paradigm, participant...

The market for beverages providing a cognitive boost is growing. Marketers often highlight the benefits of such drinks in their advertisements. Can such communications influence consumers’ actual cognitive performance? Our results of cognitive task battery in a controlled experiment show that consumers’ cognitive performance was negatively impacted...

Effective techniques for the analysis of messaging strategies is critical as targeted messaging is ubiquitous in society and a major research interest in the fields of psychology, business, marketing and communications. In this study, we investigated the effect of audiovisual messaging on participants’ affective state using a two-dimensional theory...

This study investigates the effects of incentives on a consumer’s choice of a utility plan. In our study that utilizes conjoint analysis, our research aims to understand the impact of incentives on consumers’ choice of a Time-of-Use (TOU) utility pricing plan. The results indicate that underlining the consequences and offering incentives influence...