Research interest groups

In addition to their own research laboratories, Institute members work within a number of Research Interest Groups (RIGs), the purpose of which is to bring together people with similar research interests to foster transdisciplinary research, share resources, and provide specialized training to students. The following groups represent areas of strength and expertise in our membership:

Brock Institute for Electrophysiological Research (BIER)

BIER is a transdisciplinary research group, based in the Lifespan Institute, formed in 2002 to highlight and foster Brock University’s niche expertise in electrophysiological research. Members are from various departments across four Faculties who have active programs of research using electrophysiological techniques to understand the nervous system in both human and animal species. The goals of BIER are to maximize opportunities for collaborative research and innovation, assemble state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, and provide techniques workshops and specialized training for students and highly-qualified personnel.

Aniyan, A. Kumar, Sajeeth N. P., Samar, V.J., Desjardins, J., & Segalowitz, S.J. (2014). A wavelet based algorithm for the identification of event-related potential components. Neuroscience Methods, 233C, 63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.06.004

Brudzynski SM. Social origin of vocal communication in rodents. (Chapter 5), In: G. Witzany (Ed.), “Biocommunication of animals”, Springer Science+Business Media, Dordrecht, 2014, pp. 63-79.

Brudzynski SM. The ascending mesolimbic cholinergic system – a specific division of the reticular activating system involved in the initiation of negative emotional states. J Mol Neurosci, 2014, 53(3):436-445.

Brudzynski SM, Kadishevitz L and Fu X-W. Mesolimbic component of the ascending cholinergic pathways: Electrophysiological-pharmacological study. J Neurophysiol, 1998, 79:1675-1686.

Brudzynski SM, McLachlan RS, Bihari F and Girvin JP. Response of neurons of the rat anterior hypothalamic-preoptic area to intracerebrally applied carbachol. Brain Res Bull, 1991, 26: 929-934.

Capuana, L. J., Dywan. J., Tays, W. J., Elmers, J. L., Witherspoon, R., & Segalowitz, S. J. (2014). Factors influencing the role of autonomic regulation in the service of cognitive control. Biological Psychology, 102, 88-97.

Cote, K.A., Jancsar, C.Hunt, B. (2015). Event-related neural response to emotional picture stimuli following sleep deprivation, Psychology and Neuroscience, 8:102-13.

Cote KA, Mondloch CJ, Sergeeva V, Taylor M, Semplonius T. (2014). Impact of total sleep deprivation on behavioural neural processing of emotionally expressive faces. Exp Brain Res. 232: 1429-42.

Desjardins, J.A., & Segalowitz, S.J. (2013). The timing and consistency of event-related potential responses when processing faces: Deconstructing the P100-N170 complex using ICA and robust estimation. Journal of Vision, 13(5):22, 1–18.

DuPuis, D., Ram, N., Willner, C.J., Karalunas, S., Segalowitz, S.J., Gatzke-Kopp, L.M. (2015). Implications of Ongoing Neural Development for the Measurement of the Error-Related Negativity in Childhood. Developmental Science18, 452-468DOI: 10.1111/desc. 12229.

Dwivedi, V. (2013). Interpreting quantifier scope ambiguity: Evidence of heuristic first, algorithmic second processing. PLoS One, 8(11), 1-20.

Dwivedi, V., Phillips, N. Einagel, S., & Baum, S. (2010). The neural underpinnings of semantic ambiguity and anaphora. Brain Research, 1311, 93-109.

El Bouse AO, Gabriel DA, Tokuno CD. Examining the reliability of the flexor carpi radialis V-wave at different levels of muscle contraction. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2013 Apr;23(2):296-301.

Emrich, S. M., Al-Aidroos, N., Pratt, J., & Ferber, S. (2009). Visual search elicits the electrophysiological marker of visual working memory. PloS one,4(11), e8042.

Gatzke-Kopp, L. M., Jetha, M. K., & Segalowitz, S. J. (2014). The role of resting frontal EEG asymmetry in psychopathology: Afferent or efferent filter? Developmental Psychobiology, 56, 73–85.

Hodges, MR, Tattersall, GJ, Harris, MB, McEvoy, S, Richerson, DN, Chen, S-F, Deneris, ES, Johnson, RL, Richerson, GB. 2008. Severe defects in breathing and thermoregulation after genetic deletion of serotonin neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 28: 2495-2505

Klose, M.K., Dason, J., Boulianne, G.L., Atwood, H.L., Mercier, A.J. (2010) Peptide-induced modulation of synaptic transmission and escape response in Drosophila requires two G-protein coupled receptors. J. Neurosci. 30: 14724-14734.

Kundu, B., Sutterer, D. W., Emrich, S. M., & Postle, B. R. (2013). Strengthened effective connectivity underlies transfer of working memory training to tests of short-term memory and attention. The Journal of Neuroscience, 33(20), 8705-8715.

Lackner, C.L., Santesso, D.L., Dywan, J., Wade, T.J., Segalowitz, S.J. (2014). Event-related Potentials Elicited to Performance Feedback in High- and Low-Shy Adolescents. Infant and Child Development, 23, 283-294. doi: 10.1002/icd.1865.

Lackner, C.L., Santesso, D.L., Dywan, J., Wade, T.J., Segalowitz, S.J. (2013). Electrocortical indices of selective attention predict adolescent executive functioning. Biological Psychology, 93, 325-333.

Lowe MR, Spencer GE. Perturbation of the activity of a single identified neuron affects long-term memory formation in a molluscan semi-intact preparation. J Exp Biol. 2006 Feb;209(Pt 4):711-21.

MacLean, M. H. & Arnell, K. M. (2011). Greater attentional blink magnitude is associated with higher levels of anticipatory attention as measured by alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD). Brain Research, 1387, 99-107.

MacLean, M. H., Arnell, K. M. & Cote. K. A. (2012). Resting EEG in alpha and beta bands predicts individual differences in attentional blink magnitude. Brain and Cognition, 78, 218-229.

Marshall, W.J., Lackner, C.L., Marriott, P., Santesso, D.L., & Segalowitz, S.J. (in press). Using Phase Shift Granger Causality to Measure Effective Connectivity in EEG Recordings. Brain Connectivity, accepted Nov 12, 2014 (BRAIN-2014-0241).

Masaki H, Murphy TI, Kamijo K, Yamazaki K, Sommer W (2012) Foreshadowing of Performance Accuracy by Event-Related Potentials: Evidence from a Minimal-Conflict Task. PLoS ONE 7(5): e38006.

McIntosh, K., & Gabriel, D.A. (2012). Reliability of muscle fiber conduction velocity. Muscle & Nerve, 45, 257-265.

Milakovic, M., Klose, M., Ormerod, K.G., Mercier, A.J. (2014) Mode of action of a Drosophila FMRFamide in inducing muscle contraction. J. Exp. Biol. 217, 1725-1736.

Murphy, T. I., Richard, M., Masaki, H., & Segalowitz, S. J. (2006) The Effect of Sleepiness on Performance Monitoring: I know what I am doing, but do I care? Journal of Sleep Research, 15, 11-15.

Ormerod, K.G., Rogasevskaia, T., Coorssen, J.R., Mercier, A.J. (2012) Cholesterol-independent effects of methyl-ß-cyclodextrin on chemical synapses. PLoS One 7: e36395.

Renn RP, Cote KA Performance monitoring following total sleep deprivation: Effects of task type and error rate. Int J Psychophysiol 2013 88:64-73.

Smart, C.M., Segalowitz, S.J., Mulligan, B.P., & MacDonald, S.W. (2014). Attention capacity and self-report of subjective cognitive decline: a P3 ERP study. Biol Psychol, 103, 144-151. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.08.016 S0301-0511(14)00201-4

Van Noordt, S., Desjardins, J., & Segalowitz, S.J. (in press). Watch Out! Medial frontal cortex is activated by cues signaling potential changes in response demands. NeuroImagehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.04.021.

van Noordt, S. & Segalowitz, S.J. (2012). Performance monitoring and the medial prefrontal cortex: a review of individual differences and context effects as a window on self-regulation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, article 197.

Vesprini ND, Spencer GE. Retinoic acid induces changes in electrical properties of adult neurons in a dose- and isomer-dependent manner. J Neurophysiol. 2014 Mar;111(6):1318-30.

Weaver TB, Hamilton LE, Tokuno CD (2012). Age-related changes in the control of perturbation-evoked and voluntary arm movements. Clinical Neurophysiology. 123(10):2025-2033.

Weaver TB, Janzen MR, Adkin AL, Tokuno CD (2012). Changes in spinal excitability during dual task performance. Journal of Motor Behavior. 44(4):289-294.

Weissflog, M., Choma, B., van Noordt, S., Dywan, J., & Segalowitz, S.J. (2013). The Political (and Physiological) Divide: Political Orientation, Performance Monitoring, and the Anterior Cingulate Response. Social Neuroscience, 8(5), 434-447.

Willner, C.J., Gatzke-Kopp, L.M., Bierman, K., Greenberg, M., & Segalowitz S.J. (in press). Relevance of a neurophysiological marker of selective attention for children’s learning-related behaviors and academic performance. Developmental Psychology (2013-2829RR), accepted April 3, 2015.

Zheng, X., & Segalowitz, S. J. (2014). Putting a face in its place: In- and out-group membership alters the N170 response. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, 9(7), 961-968. doi:10.1093/scan/nst069.