Research Labs

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Adolescent Development LabDr. Teena WilloughbyOur major research interest is in adolescent development with a focus on two main questions: (a) What predicts the individual differences found among adolescents with regard to risk taking, academic underachievement, and media use (e.g., video game play), particularly in terms of different developmental trajectories, and how are these trajectories related to psychosocial adjustment?, and (b) Is adolescence a sensitive period for development, resulting in unique vulnerabilities and opportunities for both negative (e.g., risk taking, depression) as well as positive behaviors (e.g., engagement in structured activities; spirituality)?Lab website
Attention LabDr. Karen ArnellIn our lab we investigate attention – its limits in dual-task situations, attentional capture and distraction, how attention and emotion interact, and individual differences in breadth and capture of attention. We seek to understand how and why individuals differ in terms of attention and the implications of these differences. We use several different types of measures: RT and accuracy from computerized experiments, self-report questionnaire scores, and sometimes cortical responses using EEG and event-related brain potentials (ERPs), and/or autonomic measures of arousal.Lab website
Behavioural, Developmental, and Social Neuroscience LabDr. Cheryl McCormickEnvironmental experiences and social interactions shape the development and function of the brain, which in turn influence perception of, and behaviour in, situations in the future. Our lab investigates the role of hormones of the neuroendocrine systems in moulding the relationship between the environment and the individual in animal models, both human and nonhuman.Lab website
Brain and Language LabDr. Veena DwivediResearch in the Brain and Language Lab at Brock University, under the direction of Dr. Veena Dwivedi, focuses on how human beings perceive language in real-time. As such, the research program in the lab combines knowledge from several disciplines in Cognitive Science (e.g., Psychology, Neuroscience, Linguistics) as a way of understanding the human brain.Lab website
Brock Intergroup Attitudes Scholarship (BIAS) LaboratoryDr. Gordon HodsonIn this lab we are interested in intergroup relations, with a particular focus on prejudice and discrimination. We consider both experimental and personality-driven research, incorporating cognitive and affective factors, across a wide range of prejudices (including anti-immigrant and anti-LGBT attitudes). Outgroup dehumanization and the marginalization of disadvantaged social groups are of key interest. We also study political ideology, and human-animal relations (e.g., speciesism).Lab website
Brock Well-being Research LabDr. Michael BusseriThe Well-Being Research Lab examines 'subjective well-being', which refers to how individuals evaluate and experience their lives in positive (and negative) ways, as well as beliefs about how their lives, and their well-being, is changing over time. Our research focuses on individuals' beliefs about their past, current, and anticipated future lives. We are particularly interested in the sources and implications of these beliefs for positive functioning across the adult lifespan.Lab website
Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience LabDr. Sid Segalowitz & Dr. Tim MurphyWe have several streams of research all focusing on cortical and cardiovascular autonomic response technologies: (1) responses of the medial prefrontal cortex as they relate to age (especially childhood, adolescence, and adult aging) and to differences in personality traits (e.g., temperament factors of reward-seeking and cautiousness, externalizing and internalizing traits, and psychopathy); (2) early perceptual responses in the cortex, whether faces, objects, or emotionally laden events; and (3) medial prefrontal cortex responses to decision making, such as in gambling contexts, as they may be altered in different states of arousal (e.g., sleepiness). We examine cortical responses using EEG and event-related potentials (ERPs). Our child and adolescent developmental projects focus especially on personality trait influences on these physiological responses.Lab website
Community Action Research and Ethics (CARE) CollectiveDr. Scott NeufeldOur research focuses on two related streams: substance use-related stigma and the value of lived expertise and community research ethics in community-based research and practice. Stigma: We adopt a critical approach to examining the structural context of substance use-related stigma. This has involved examining the intersections of racism, classism and other forms of oppression with substance use stigma and how anti-stigma campaigns may reproduce substance use-related inequalities by prioritizing the stories and identities of White, middle class people who use(d) drugs. Community Research Ethics: Our work has involved facilitating community discussions to help produce widely-shared visions of community research ethics that guide community-based research and practice. In all our work we aim to centre diverse lived expertise in our analysis, including ongoing collaboration with community members in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and people who use(d) drugs in the Niagara region.
Comparative Behavioural Neuroscience LabDr. Paula Duarte GutermanMy research examines how biological sex and major life history events such as parenthood affect behaviour and neuroplasticity throughout the lifespan. We use rodent laboratory models and we complement this animal work with analyses of human databasesLab website
Developing Memory & Cognition LabDr. Caitlin MahyOur lab examines the development of memory and future-oriented thinking in early childhood. Generally, we study how children remember to carry out their future intentions (prospective memory) and how they think and reason about the future (episodic future thinking). Our group is also interested in how self regulation and social understanding support future-oriented cognitive development. We use both experimental and individual difference approaches to investigate these issues.Lab website
Developmental Neuroscience LabDr. Charlis Raineki Our research uses primarily animal models to examine how our unique experiences across development have profound impacts on our brains and behavior. Our primary research interest is to uncover biological mechanisms underlying neurobehavioral deficits induced by pre- and/or early postnatal adverse experiences, with a special focus on understanding the increased vulnerability to develop psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety. Lab website
Face Perception LabDr. Cathy MondlochWe investigate the development of expert face perception. Adults recognize hundreds of faces at a glance and are extremely sensitive to numerous social cues (e.g., emotional expressions). We study how this expertise develops during childhood, limitations in adults’ expertise (e.g., the own-race recognition advantage), and the influence of social context (e.g., in-group versus out-group) on face perception. New funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation will allow us to expand our research using cutting-edge technology.Lab website
Identity Inclusion LabDr. William Hall Our lab focuses on inclusion and diversity in educational and organizational settings. We look to empirically document the interpersonal and organizational factors that block stigmatized individuals’ achievement and to generate interventions which will ameliorate group-based inequality. In an ongoing program of research, we examine how interpersonal interactions and broader organizational norms can make people feel devalued in a situation because of a given social identity (e.g., age, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, mental health status). We employ qualitative and quantitative methods to offer a window into the lived experiences of people with stigmatized identities. Lab website
Neurocognitive Aging LabDr. Karen CampbellWe are a cognitive neuroscience lab located in the ​Centre for Lifespan Development at Brock University. Our research focuses on the cognitive and neural changes that accompany normal human aging. We are particularly interested in how age differences in attentional control affect other cognitive processes (such as memory and language functions) that are otherwise preserved with age. We use both neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, EEG) and behavioural methods (including eye-tracking) to address these questions.Lab website
Neuropsychology Cognitive Research LabDr. Dawn GoodOur research focus on understanding the processing constraints involved in cognition, reasoning, and memory ability in neurologically compromised individuals (particularly those with Acquired Brain Injury, both adult and paediatric populations), how these constraints impact community reintegration and daily function, and how these abilities may be preserved, compensated, and/or improved.Lab website
Sleep Research LaboratoryDr. Kimberly CoteIn the Sleep Research Laboratory we study “Sleep, Performance, and Cognition”. My students and I have carried out diverse projects that explore this relationship between sleep and waking function, e.g., impact of total and partial sleep deprivation, benefits of napping, mechanisms of insomnia, role of sleep in learning, sleep disruption following brain injury, etc.Lab website
Social-Cognitive Development LabDr. Angela EvansWe are a research team at Brock University interested in social and cognitive development across development from childhood to older adults. In general, we study the developmental trajectory of lie-telling, why different types of lies are told, and what are the optimal methods to promote truth-telling in children. Additionally, we are interested in how to question children to obtain the most honest and accurate reports including examining questions asked in court transcripts, and lab-based experimental studiesLab website
Social Cognition, Relationships, and Methods LabDr. Sabrina Thai In the Social Cognition, Relationships, and Methods lab, we are generally interested in how people think about themselves, their relationship partners, and close relationships. More specifically, we examine how comparison information affects relationship processes, perceptions, and thoughts in the lab and in daily life.Lab website
Visual Cognitive Neuroscience LabDr. Stephen EmrichOur lab investigates the neural basis of visual short-term memory, attention, and perception by using a combination of behavioural techniques, electrophysiology (EEG) and fMRI.Lab website
Youth Development LabDr. Elizabeth ShulmanIn the Youth Development Lab, we conduct studies that include children, adolescents, and adults in order to better understand how decision making changes with age. This research informs efforts to keep young people safe without overly restricting their opportunities to learn and grow.Lab website