Control of Attention in Life and Mind

CALM LAB

UNC Wilmington

The CALM Lab studies the control of attention across contexts of life and mind, combining cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and contemplative practices to understand how attention shapes thought, success, and well-being.

Team

Meet the researchers and students working in the CALM Lab.

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Projects

Explore our research on attention control, brain networks, and mindfulness.

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Connect

Interested in collaborating, joining the lab, or connecting with us?

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Latest News

Follow us on Bluesky

The CALM Lab is now on Bluesky! Follow us for updates on our research, publications, and news.

CALM Lab website launches

We are excited to announce the launch of the CALM Lab website.

Dr. Tsukahara Edits a Research Topic in Frontiers in Cognition

Read papers or submit your own in a Frontiers Research Topic exploring the properties of intrinsic functional brain networks and their intersection with ascending arousal systems.

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Research

The CALM Lab’s research is organized around three interconnected areas that together aim to understand the role of attention across contexts of life and mind.

Cognitive Mechanisms

How do differences in the ability to control attention relate to cognition and well-being?

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Neural Mechanisms

What are the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to control attention?

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Mindfulness

How do mindfulness and contemplative practices strengthen attention control and well-being?

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Latest Publications

Sustaining the focus of attention and how it relates to performance in complex cognitive tasks

Tsukahara & Engle

Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences

Attention control ability is associated with frontoparietal control network interactions

Seeburger, Tsukahara, Xu, Ahluwalia, Keilholz, & Engle

Cognitive Neuroscience

Catching the drift: EEG microstate dynamics resemble time‑on‑task changes in sustained attention and mind wandering

Tsukahara, Zanesco, Schwartzman, Denkova, & Jha

International Journal of Selection and Assessment

Attention control measures improve the prediction of performance in Navy trainees

Burgoyne, Mashburn, Tsukahara, Pak, Coyne, Foroughi, Sibley, Drollinger, & Engle

Frontiers in Psychology

Climate anxiety impairs sustained attention: Objective evidence of a cognitive cost

Denkova, Tardibuono, Tsukahara, Zanesco, & Jha

Frontiers in Cognition

Examining the association between vigilance and mind wandering

Schwartzman, Zanesco, Denkova, Tsukahara, & Jha

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