Faculty, Department of Psychology
Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Psychology
Director, Measurement of Episodic Memory Lab
Affiliate Faculty, School of Neuroscience
Affiliate Faculty, Center for Gerontology
Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Psychology
Director, Measurement of Episodic Memory Lab
Affiliate Faculty, School of Neuroscience
Affiliate Faculty, Center for Gerontology
EMail
Office Hours
Fall 2026 Office Hours:
Mondays 3:45pm-4:15pm (NCB 208, in person only)
Tuesdays 9:30am-10:30am (WMS 335 and zoom)
Wednesdays 3:45pm-4:15pm (NCB 208, in person only)
Thursdays noon-1:00pm (WMS 335 and zoom)
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/my/rdiana
Mondays 3:45pm-4:15pm (NCB 208, in person only)
Tuesdays 9:30am-10:30am (WMS 335 and zoom)
Wednesdays 3:45pm-4:15pm (NCB 208, in person only)
Thursdays noon-1:00pm (WMS 335 and zoom)
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/my/rdiana
Office Address
335 Williams Hall
Office Phone
Accepting Graduate Students?
Accepting students in Cognitive Neuroscience & Biopsychology
Research Center/Lab
Curriculum Vitae
Interests
My area of specialization is the psychology and cognitive neuroscience of human memory. I have conducted research into the retrieval processes operating in recognition memory using behavioral techniques, event-related potentials, and computational modeling to assess the predictions of single and dual-process models of recognition. I have extended this research into the study of the brain by developing and testing a model of medial temporal lobe function in episodic memory processing using ERP, fMRI, and patient approaches.
Recent Courses Taught
- PSYC 2064 Introduction to the Neuroscience of Behavior
- PSYC 4114 Cognitive Psychology
- PSYC 5405 Biological Bases of Behavior
- PSYC 5344 Cognitive Psychology (graduate level)
Select Publications
- Yuksel, E.*, Shafer, E.S.*, Netto, M., & Diana, R.A. (2026). Replicability of representational similarity and its role in successful memory retrieval. Imaging Neuroscience, 4. doi: 10.1162/IMAG.a.1214 *denotes co-first-authorship
- Salan, J., Smith, D.E., Shafer, E.S., & Diana, R.A. (2025). Variation in encoding context benefits item memory. Memory & Cognition, 53, 725-745. doi: 10.3758/s13421-024-01603-x
- Lim, Y., Lang, D.J., & Diana, R.A. (2023). Cognitive tasks affect the relationship between representational pattern similarity and subsequent item memory in the hippocampus. NeuroImage, 277, doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120241
- Tu, H.W. & Diana, R.A. (2021). The interaction of relational encoding and unitization: Effects on medial temporal lobe processing during retrieval. Behavioural Brain Research, 396, doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112878.
Degrees
- PhD Carnegie Mellon University 2006
- MS Carnegie Mellon University 2003
- BS Presbyterian College 2001