LAB DIRECTOR: John F. (Jack) Shelley-Tremblay

Department of Psychology

University of South Alabama

Brain and Behavioral Sciences M.S. Program Core Faculty Research Lab

Our research investigates the interaction between visual attention and reading processes. I have three current areas, employing psychophysiological, neuropsychological, and educational methodologies. One of my most promising directions combines my basic and applied research interests and involves visual training for persons with reading disability. I am fascinated by the possibility of understanding some of the contributories of disordered visual processing to reading disability, and to this end I have worked with my collaborators to develop novel approaches to assessment and intervention. I am using infra-red based eye tracking equipment to provide a quantitative record of eye movements and reading fluency, and correlating this information with comprehension and vocabulary levels.

Current Funding:

NIH-ICorps Program, National Institutes of Health Innovation Corps Program 

Co-Investigator along with Dr. Teri Lawton

I-Corps at NIH is an entrepreneurship training program specifically designed for companies that received Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer funding from NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During this 8-week, hands-on program, we learn how to focus our business plan and get the tools to bring our treatment to the patients who need it most. $55,000.00 

National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: SBIR-NIH/CSR/NV 13 June, 2023 - July, 2025 

Lawton, T. PI., Shelley-Tremblay, John, CO-PI, Hwang, M, Co-PI. FUNDED. 2023-2026.$550,000.

1R43NS132718-01 - Retraining Neural Pathways to Improve Cognitive Skills after a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) 

The funded Fast-Track study tests the feasibility (Phase I) and efficacy (Phase II) of PATH
neurotraining for improving cognitive skills in mTBI patients, significantly improving visual working memory
more than sham training. The feasibility of PATH neurotraining will be evaluated by comparing it with sham
training, a placebo that does not activate the dorsal stream, which is the key component of PATH
neurotraining, for mTBI subjects in Phase I and in Phase II. Currently, there are no RCT showing an effective
and rapid intervention to improve working memory in mTBI patients. This study will determine the relative
advantage(s) of PATH neurotraining for enhancing cognition in mTBI patients at least 3 months following their
mTBI. We predict that mTBI patients who do PATH neurotraining will improve their visual and cognitive skills,
improving working memory (primary outcome), as well as attention, multitasking, processing speed, and
reading speed (secondary outcomes), significantly more than those doing the sham training. After completing
the sham training, participants will be provided with PATH neurotraining if desired, so all participants have the
opportunity to improve their cognitive functioning. MEG brain recordings will be used to provide a biomarker
showing that PATH neurotraining improves the dorsal, attention, and executive control networks, as found
previously, and required for commercialization of PATH neurotraining. We predict these improvements will be
found in all those who complete PATH neurotraining. This project applies a well-motivated, novel intervention,
PATH neurotraining, to investigate the impact of using dynamic visual attention training on improving cognitive
skills and neural pathways in mTBI patients.

Research Interests

• Detection of Concussion

• Remediation of Attentional and Processing Deficits

• EEG/ERPs, fMRI and MEG

• Visual attention and reading processes

• Visual training for persons with developmental and acquired disorders

• Health Psychology: Fibromyalgia

• Health Psychology: Mitochondrial DNA, Stress, and Depression

• Neurobiology of Intimate Relationships

Founder and Coordinator of Psychophysiology Laboratory. Electrophysiological investigation of language and cognitive processes. Event-Related Potentials. Language and Cognition. biological and attentional basis of reading disabilities. Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience. Neuropsychological testing research and diagnosis. Psycholinguistics.