Our Research

Dr.Ingrid Johnsrude is a Western Research Chair and holds joint Professor appointments in Psychology, and in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Members of her lab use psychophysical and neuroimaging methods such as fMRI and EEG to study the neural basis of hearing; particularly how the brains of listeners transform the noisy and variable sounds of everyday conversations into meaningful language. The group is also exploring how the brain develops expectations about what it will hear, and how these expectations influence perception. In another line of research that capitalizes on Dr Johnsrude’s training in clinical neuropsychology and neuroimaging, the group is exploring the potential of novel functional-imaging based methods for evaluation of subtle brain abnormalities in epilepsy, concussion and other brain disorders.

Western’s world-renowned Brain and Mind Institute is a lively, highly multidisciplinary and collaborative community of >30 core faculty and >170 trainees, with fully equipped state-of-the-art laboratories for cognitive and behavioural testing. Facilities at Western in include a full range of high and ultra-high field research-dedicated MRI systems (3T, 7T and 9.4T), and access to large neurological patient populations in affiliated teaching hospitals. Our global reach and excellence in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging was recently recognized by a 7-year, $66-million-dollar federal research award. This CFREF-funded BrainsCAN initiative will underwrite transformative research and training programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels at Western.

Please explore our website to discover more about our people, our publications, and our current projects!