Category Archives: Research

Congrats to Devan!

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Congratulations to lab member Devan Pancura on the successful defense of her MSc. Devan’s work examined theories of motor imagery and the impact of task fidelity. Specifically, Devan looked at how excitability of the brain scales as one performs or imagines performing a gripping task, and whether or not prior exposure to the task alters how the brain excitability scales. Findings best support that imagery is a simulation of motor action. Great job on the project and defense Devan!

Devan’s was the first in-person defense for the lab since the onset of the pandemic.

And the reno is done!

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At long last, our lab renovation is complete! As they say, good things come to those who wait, and this is no exception. Members of the lab are excited to have a new, modern space – in total, the lab features approximately 2400 sq ft of space, including 3 behavioural suites for experiments, a dedicated area for brain stimulation work, and a new student space. Great features include a change room, white board walls and new storage for our high performance computing. Looking forward to a lot of great work in the coming years! Stay tuned for a lab opening party…

Brain stimulation suite
Student space
Lab gallery

RIO Meeting

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Members of the lab are just returning from Bielefeld, Germany, where they attended the annual meeting of the Research in Imagery and Observation (RIO) group. The two day meeting featured poster and oral presentations related to research in imagery and observation, and included an invited talk by lab director Shaun Boe. PhD students Sarah Kraeutner and Jack Solomon also presented work on assessment in motor imagery, as well as the neural processes underlying motor planning in motor imagery. A great meeting not only for the talks, but the formation of future collaborations with RIO members. Even a bit of time to squeeze in some drinks in Frankfurt! Looking forward to seeing everyone again in Teeside in 2019.

Jack practicing his poster spiel.
Jack presenting at RIO 2018.
Sarah presenting at RIO 2018.
Patio drinks in Frankfurt!

Scholarship Season

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Scholarship season is upon us, and what a great season its been. Lots of success for current and incoming students, including:

PhD student Jack Solomon was awarded an NSERC CGS-D, the highest level NSERC, for his work examining the neural mechanisms underlying learning via motor imagery.

Incoming MSc students Theresa Gaughan and Stephanie Shewchuck were awarded Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarships. Both Theresa and Stephanie will be examining different aspects of how aerobic exercise modulate brain activity.

PhD student Sarah Kraeutner was awarded a CIHR travel award. Sarah used this award to support her travel to the annual meeting of the Research in Imagery and Observation group (RIO) this past week in Bielefeld, Germany, where she presented work related to assessments of MI ability.

Really close now!

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Our new lab space is almost a reality! The finishing touches are in the works, and we’re partially moved in. Looking forward to the final product in early March. And no, the countertops ARE NOT supposed to be orange…

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Getting closer – we have walls!

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Construction crews are working hard to get the lab done for an early March opening! Walls are now up, and door/window frames are in. With the walls up, the different experimental suites are taking shape. The renovated lab will feature a large (450 sqft) area dedicated to TMS studies, including our work related to exercise and brain excitabilty (top picture). A great new feature will be an in-lab change room (middle picture) caption, as well as three independent behavioural suites (one dedicated to EEG) with dedicated workstations and one-way glass for observation.

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Lab renovation underway!

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A new year will bring a new lab space for the LBRF crew. Major improvements include 3 new behavioural suites, an updated student space and dedicated space for our brain stimulation equipment. The end result will be over 2400 sq ft of space dedicated to collaborative and interdisciplinary research in neuroscience. Stay tuned for more pics as the reno moves forward. As of Jan 18, demolition is complete, electrical is underway, and millwork is being completed offsite!

Reno1

Spreading the word…

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Part of the lab crew were busy spreading the word about our research at the recent annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Vancouver. We presented work from a few different areas, including imagery and expertise, complex skill learning and neuroimaging.

Vancouver

New pub looks at nature of MI learning

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New research from the lab contributes to our understanding of how learning through motor imagery occurs. The study, co-authored by PhD students Sarah Kraeutner and Tony Ingram, shows that inhibition of motor related areas in the brain do not impair the ability to learn a skill through motor imagery-based practice. You can check out the study here.

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PhD students Tony and Sarah demonstrate the joy of rTMS…

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