ABOUT ME
I am an Associate Professor in the Graduate Programs of Psychology, Biology, and the Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program in the Department of Psychology at York University.
My specific research interests lie within the realms of converting multisensory signals of vision, audition and touch into motor movements of the eyes, hands & body and how these mechanisms are modulated by various mechanisms of short- and long-term cognitive control, attention and suppression. I use cognitive and systems neuroscience approaches, utilizing the technologies of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), eyetracking and electrophysiology.
Defining the effects of dance on the brain is one of the JoeLab's current foci. We are studying learning in expert dancers and people with Parkinson's Disease, as well as the therapeutic effects of dance for the latter group.
EDUCATION
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dance and the Brain
Motor learning in expert and non-expert dancers, and dance as a therapy for Parkinson's disease.
2001
University of Western Ontario
Ph.D. Neuroscience
Vision
Integration with audition and touch, and conversion to motor movements of the eyes, hands, and body.
Cognitive Processes
Short and long-term cognitive control, attention, and suppression.
1996
University of Western Ontario
M.Sc. Neuroscience
1994
University of Western Ontario
B.A. Honours Psychology