Ashley Komosinski Showcases Research at National Higher Education Conference

Ashley Komosinski, of Delhi, New York, attended the annual Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) conference and showcased her research project titled "Memory Consolidation Enhances Serial Learning: An Investigation Using the Hebb Digits Task."

Komosinski received the opportunity to share her psychology research with more than 1,500 higher education professionals and students at the MSCHE conference from Dec. 10-12, 2025, in Philadelphia's Center City district. She is among the nearly 250 students who have presented at the MSCHE Student Poster Presentations since 2022.

"It was an amazing experience to be present at the conference," Komosinski said. "I learned so much from everyone around me. My favorite part was making connections with people I never would have met otherwise. Through this experience, I feel I have gained information and connections that will help me pursue graduate school and support me in my future career."

Komosinski's research examined whether subconscious memory consolidation, the biological process that converts short-term memory into long-term memory, would help participants complete the Hebb Digits task. In the task, participants are shown a sequence of numbers and must immediately recall them in the same order. Using nine digits per sequence, most sequences are random except for one that repeats every third round. Known as the "Hebb effect," repeated exposure to the same sequence leads to gradual improvement in memory.

Building on early 20th-century research showing that people recall information better after sleep than after activity, Komosinski presented participants with digit sequences across two learning sessions separated by a period of sleep. She and her SUNY Oneonta faculty sponsor, Geoffrey O'Shea, adapted the traditional Hebb Digits format to test whether sleep between sessions would improve performance.

"Using this format, we tested the hypothesis that serial learning of the digit sequences in the second session would be enhanced due to the intervening period of sleep," Komosinski said. "Results found that participants' recall for both the repeating and non-repeating sequences was greater for session two. Additionally, participants' digit-entry rate was faster for session two. The results are discussed in terms of the role of consolidation in associative and motor learning."

Komosinski is a Psychology major at SUNY Oneonta and is a member of the Class of 2026.