Michael J. Wenger
Professor, Psychology 2 Partners Place Suite 100 405-325-0770 Michael.J.Wenger at ou dot edu https://sites.google.com/view/ouvnl Ph.D., Experimental Psychology - State University of New York at Binghamton, 1994Research:
Our work emphasizes the combined application of behavioral and non-invasive neuroimaging (primarily electroencephalographic, EEG) methods, using the methods of computational neuroscience and mathematical modeling to link these variables. There are currently four major areas of emphasis in our lab:
1. Effects of variations in blood and brain levels on perception, memory, and cognition: In this line of work we are documenting (using a combination of behavioral, EEG, and MRI measures) the extent to which variations in iron levels produce measurable, and correctable, changes in basic perceptual, mnemonic, and cognitive abilities, mainly in women and across the life-span. In addition, we are testing the extent to which models of communication systems can be used to characterize the range of effects on behavior and neural functioning associated with variations in iron levels.
2. The effects of diabetic retinopathy on the perception and memory of faces: Difficulties perceiving and remembering faces are associated with many diseases of the eye, including age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, and difficulties in face processing are often early indicators of damage to the eye. However, difficulties with face processing in diabetic retinopathy have been studied only rarely so little is known about prevalence and severity of deficits in facial perception and memory in individuals with diabetic retinopathy. This project is assessing the prevalence and severity of face processing deficits in a large sample of individuals with diabetic retinopathy and is using advanced psychophysical, electrophysiological, and mathematical modeling approaches in a detailed study with a smaller sample.
3. Effects of perceptual learning on recognition memory. Behaviorally-induced changes in perceptual ability are foundational to a range of cognitive skills. This project is using behavioral and electrophysiological methods and mathematical modeling to investigate the extent to which perceptual learning can be used to improve recognition memory, specifically for faces.
4. Tests of competing hypotheses regarding the manner in which auditory and visual features are "bound together" in working memory. Maintaining auditory and visual information in memory while manipulating them in the service of a cognitive task has been suggested to reflect a "binding" of the two streams of information. However, this research has traditionally relied on operational definitions that are prone to circular reasoning. This work is also using behavioral and electrophysiological methods and mathematical modeling to attempt strong tests of competing hypotheses for the nature and neural source of this putative "binding."
Our work is highly collaborative, and takes advantage of numerous connections here at OU and outside the university. In particular, we have fruitful collaborations with Dr. Han Yuan in OU's School of Biomedical Engineering, and Dra. Dee Wu, Jason Oliver, Marisol Castillo-Castrejon, and Joan Walker on the OU Health Campus. We are also proud of our long-standing collaboration with Dr. Jim Townsend of Indiana University, to whom a great deal of our work is indebted.
Selected Publications:
Newbolds, S. F. and Wenger, M. J. (2026, preprint) Multiscale entropy is related to iron status in resting state EEG data. bioRxiv. under review, Nutritional Neuroscience.
Wenger, M. J., Townsend, J. T., and Newbolds, S. F. (2025) The Neurocognitive efficiency score: Derivation, validation, and application of a novel combination of concurrent electrophysiological and behavioral data. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-025-01311-2.
Wenger, M. J., Townsend, J. T., and Ak, A. (2025) The Sequential categorization-identification paradigm (SCIP): A Paradigm for the concurrent testing of strong hypotheses regarding psychological representation and processing. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-025-03080-z.
Barnett, A. L., Wenger, M. J., Miles, P. Wu, D., Isingizwe, Z. R., Benbrook, D. M., and Yuan, H. (2025) Cognitive performance in relation to systemic and brain iron at perimenopause. Nutrients 17(5): 745.
Rhoten, S. E., Wenger, M. J., and De Stefano, L. E. (2024) Iron deficiency negatively affects behavioral measures of learning, indirect neural measures of dopamine, and neural efficiency. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-024-01241-5.
Newbolds, S. F. & Wenger, M. J. (2024) Assessing the pattern electroretinogram as a proxy measure for dopamine in the context of iron deficiency. Nutritional Neuroscience 1-12.
Chesbro, G. A., Owens, C., Reese, M., De Stefano, L., Kellawan, J. M., Larson, D. J., Wenger, M. J., & Larson, R. D. (2024) Changes in brain activity immediately post-exercise indicate a role for central fatigue in the volitional termination of exercise. International Journal of Exercise Science 17: 220-234.
Barnett, A. L., Wenger, M. J., Yunus, F. M., Jalal, C., & DellaValle, D. M. (2023) The effect of iron-fortified lentils on blood and cognitive status among adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Nutrients 15: 5001.
Wenger, M. J., Murray-Kolb, L. E., Scott, S. P., Boy, E., and Haas, J. D. (2022) Modeling relationships between iron status, behavior, and brain electrophysiology: Evidence from a randomized study involving a biofortified grain in Indian adolescents. BMC Public Health 22: 1299.
Wenger, M. J. Townsend, J. T., De Stefano, L. A., and Lu , Y. (2021) Effects of shifts in response preferences on characteristics of representation and real-time processing: An application to the Hering illusion. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 84:101-123.