Mariane Bacelar PhD

Mariane Bacelar joined the faculty at Boise State University in 2022. As the director of the Skill Acquisition and Psychophysiology (SAP) lab, Dr. Bacelar adopts an interdisciplinary framework to comprehensively explore and further understand the factors that influence motor skill acquisition and physical activity behavior and the neural mechanisms underlying these phenomena. In addition to experimental research, she also engages in the systematic evaluation of the scientific process to identify areas of improvement and propose strategies to increase scientific rigor, transparency, and reproducibility across disciplines. To address her research aims, Dr. Bacelar implements psychophysiological (e.g., electroencephalography; EEG), behavioral, metascience, and statistical modeling techniques.

Currently, Dr. Bacelar’s research is focused on investigating:

• Short- and long-term motor skill acquisition under a reinforcement learning framework.
• The role played by motivation in motor skill acquisition from a behavioral and neural perspective.
• The neural mechanisms underlying physical activity and inactivity behaviors and possible links to mental health (e.g., depression).

Prior to joining Boise State, Dr. Bacelar earned a Ph.D. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Psychophysiology and an M.S. in Exercise Science both from Auburn University, USA, and a B.S. in Physical Education from the Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brazil. When not in the office or lab, you can find her hiking, playing sports, watching TV shows, or learning a new song on her guitar.