Dr. Olson is a highly skilled and
experienced behavioral neuroscience
researcher with expertise in
kinesiology, nutrition, meditation,
mental health, cognition, and brain
function. He received his Ph.D. in
Nutritional Sciences from Rutgers
University in 2016 where he primarily
studied the influence of exercise and
meditation on depression, cognition,
and brain health. Prior to that, he
completed his Bachelor of Science in
Kinesiology & Health Promotion
from the University of Wyoming in 2010
where he focused on the effects of
exercise on stress reactivity and
autonomic function. Throughout his
career, he has conducted extensive
research utilizing psychophysiological
techniques such as
electroencephalography (EEG) to assess
event-related potentials (ERP) and
electrocardiography to measure heart
rate variability (HRV) and
pre-ejection period (PEP).
Additionally, Dr. Olson is trained in
mental health screenings, surveys and
questionnaires, IQ testing, cognitive
testing, exercise testing and
prescription, meditation,
metabolic/maximal fitness testing,
signal processing, accelerometry,
ecological momentary assessment, and
data analysis. Common study designs he
uses include reviews, meta-analysis,
cross sectional, acute/chronic
experimental, feasibility, and
randomized-controlled trials. Dr.
Olson is currently an Assistant
Professor in the Department of
Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and
Recreation with a dual-appointment
within the Department of Psychology at
the University of North Texas. He
established the UNT Sport and Exercise
Psychophysiology Lab in 2016 where he
currently serves as Lab Director.