Media/News
April 3, 2026
Our deepfake work with Dr. Brian Cahill was recently featured on UF’s AI2 YouTube Channel!
Click to Watch!
February 25, 2026
UF News recently featured a collaborative project on how humans and AI detect deepfakes with Dr. Brian Cahill!
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February 12, 2026
The Department of Psychology recently featured a collaborative project on how humans and AI detect deepfakes with Dr. Brian Cahill!
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February 3, 2026
Work from Dr. Natalie Ebner’s laboratory comparing human and AI deepfake detection across picture and video media was discussed in a Science News article!
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January 12, 2026
Work from Dr. Natalie Ebner’s laboratory work mentioned in a Think Global Health article discussing how truth bias contributes to older adult scam susceptibility!
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September 18, 2025
Post-doctoral researcher, Dr. Vanessa Frei was recently nominated as a Gator NeuroScholar! She hopes to use this opportunity to further her research identifying the neural mechanisms underlying speech perception, language processing and socio-emotional cognition in aging. Congrats Vanessa!
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May 7-10, 2025
Dr. Natalie Ebner was a keynote speaker at the 8th International Conference Aging & Cognition in Pavia, Italy! She presented on new directions for studying the aging social-cognitive brain.
May 5, 2025
We are thankful and honored that Dr. Trish Ring visited the Department of Psychology last week! We appreciate her continued support for the department and our lab’s research program!
January 16, 2025
Research ongoing in Ebner Lab was featured in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Ytori Magazine. In the article, Dr. Natalie Ebner discusses how real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) can be used to increase brain activity.
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January 14, 2025
At the second MBI Insights event, Dr. Natalie Ebner gave a brief talk about current research being conducted at the Ebner Lab at the McKnight Brain Institute! Several lab members attended and networked with other labs that have ongoing projects.
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December 2, 2024
Graduate students Alayna Shoenfelt and Kylie Wright alongside Drs. Natalie Ebner, Nichole Lighthall, and Dawn Bowers were awarded a pilot grant to conduct a novel natural dyadic deception experiment!
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September 25, 2024
This article discusses how better interoceptive awareness was found to be linked with higher scam detection in a collaborative study.
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September 10, 2024
This article reviews a collaborative study examining oxytocin as a potential pain reducer and potential preventative for long-term opioid use.
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June 27, 2024
Natalie attended and was the keynote speaker at the SAFEGUARD forum in San Francisco California.
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June 11, 2024
In this article, Drs. Natalie Ebner and Didem Pehlivanoglu discuss increased presence as well as factors contributing to increased vulnerability in to scams in older adults.
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May 28, 2024
In this article, Dr. Natalie Ebner discusses the effect of embarrassment on inaccurate scam reporting and cognitive decline on scam vulnerability in older adults.
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February 12, 2024
In this publication, Eric Hamilton reviews work led by Dr. Marilyn Horta in the Ebner Lab regarding older adults’ tendency to rely on first impressions and how it increases susceptibility to scams.
Click here to Read the Paper!
January 22, 2024
In this publication, Eliany Perez, Alayna Shoenfelt, and Drs. Natalie Ebner, Marilyn Horta, Nichole Lighthall explain the details on the importance of recognizing age-related challenges in integrating conflicting information between social cues (facial trustworthiness) and behavioral outcomes (payouts in a card game) for trust decisions.
Click here to Read the Paper!
August 22, 2023

In this video, post-doctorate associate, Dr. Didem Pehlivanoglu, discusses her innovative neuroscience research on deception risk and aging.
Click here for the Rising Star Video!
July 7, 2023
In this podcast Drs. Natalie Ebner, Marilyn Horta, and Didem Pehlivanoglu are interviewed about risk factors and susceptibilities to scams, phishing, and deception.
Click here for the Deception Risk Podcast Episode!
May 9, 2023
Dr. Natalie Ebner was recognized as a “UF Woman of Neuro”, as she continues to advance science through her new studies using fMRI, as well as oxytocin administration.
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April 30, 2023
Dr. Marilyn Horta, Becca Polk, Amber Heemskerk, and Dalia El-Shafie (University of Florida) presented their posters about the neuroscience of decision-making in older adults at the (Scientific Research Network on Decision Neuroscience & Aging) SRNDNA Conference, along-slide members from our collaborating lab (University of Central Florida) supervised by Dr. Nichole Lighthall.
February 23, 2023
Drs. Colleen Hughes (Montreal Neurological Institute) and Natalie Ebner (University of Florida) will collaborate to examine how brain aging, as measured by functional network analysis during rest and task states, relates to older adults’ decision-making in actual and simulated deception contexts.
November, 17, 2022
Dr. Natalie Ebner gave a talk regarding (cyber)deception in Aging at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. She reviews potential factors and considerations with susceptibility to deception in the growing aging population.
Click to Watch Now!
March 1, 2022

Dr. Natalie Ebner, alongside Dr. Nichole Lighthall (University of Central Florida) and Dr. Bob Wilson (University of Arizona) were awarded a a Multi-PI R01 from the NIH to begin new research on basic neurocognitive processes of trust-related learning in aging
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March 9, 2021
UF researchers (Dr. Ebner and Dr. Weisberg) chart a new course for our understanding of age-related navigation problems.
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February 24, 2021
In this recorded presentation, Dr. Natalie Ebner discusses Affective Processing in Aging. (She begins around 41:30.)
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February 15, 2020
In this podcast episode, Dr. Ebner discusses her research on the psychology of aging and in particular how that aging can have an impact on susceptibility to online fraud and spam.
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January 2020
Dr. Ebner discusses research in the lab regarding phishing, as well as some findings of the research and related discussions.
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December 20, 2019
In this video, Dr. Ebner discusses the brain-behavior evidence of benefits of oxytocin on cognitive and socioemotional functioning.
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November 21, 2019
Dr. Natalie Ebner gave a talk regarding the brain-behavioral evidence of benefits on cognitive and socioemotional functioning focusing on oxytocin. She discusses various ways oxytocin is thought to affect cognition in the aging population and discusses the efficacy of oxytocin treatment.
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August 27, 2019
In this article, Dr. Ebner and Dr. Oliveira’s research on interdisciplinary computer security is discussed in the context of susceptibility to cybersecurity threats.
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May 23, 2019
In this podcast Dr. Ebner is interviewed about the phishing research we have done with Dr. Daniela Oliveira.
Click here for the Marketplace Podcast Featured Episode!
April 28, 2019
In this podcast, Dr. Ebner discusses how to access, adapt, and manage different skills as you get older.
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May 30, 2018
In this article, Dr. Ebner and a colleague share key insight on aging.
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April 30,2018
Our Journal of Gerontology paper and research on phishing deception & susceptibility vs cognition & emotion was featured on CNBC.
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