Centre for Vision Research to host conference on vision research and brain plasticity June 15 to 18

The brain's ability to change or adapt across a person's lifespan is much greater than originally thought and scientists are still discovering just how far that plasticity goes. At the upcoming International Conference on Plastic Vision at York, some 24 researchers from around the world will discuss their latest findings. "We try to touch on […]

York psychologist studies the 'spacing effect' in teaching

In the late 1800s, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus set out to memorize hundreds of nonsense syllables and discovered it was more efficient to space out his study sessions than to try to learn long lists in one sitting [wrote The Globe and Mail Feb. 7]: Hundreds of studies carried out since have established the power […]

Centre for Vision Research study pinpoints part of brain that suppresses automatic responses

Research from York University is revealing which regions in the brain “fire up” when we suppress an automatic behaviour, such as the urge to look at other people as we enter an elevator. A York study, published recently in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, used fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to track brain activity […]

PhD student Kara Hawkins wins CIHR award to diagnose Alzheimer's early stages

On Saturday, Kara Hawkins stepped forward to receive a $2,500 award recognizing her as the highest-ranking applicant in Canada for a graduate scholarship in the field of aging. She accepted the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aging Recognition Prize in Research in Aging at the annual conference of the Canadian Association on Gerontology in […]

Professor Fran Wilkinson discusses research on vision and migraine headaches November 11

York psychology Professor Fran Wilkinson will talk about her visual neuroscience research, including the connection between vision and migraine headaches, tomorrow as part of the Faculty Research Profile Series. “From Cats Eyes to Headaches: Adventures in Neuroscience” will take place Thursday, Nov. 11, from 2 to 3:30pm at 214 Calumet College, Keele campus. RSVP by […]

Professor Jennifer Steeves in Centre for Vision Research finds face blindness sufferers better at recognizing voices

People who can no longer recognize faces compensate with heightened voice recognition abilities, says a York University study, which also finds that our brains may identify people and things on separate neurological planes. The study, recently published in the journal Neuropsychologia looked at a rare disorder called prosopagnosia, in which the ability to visually identify […]

Centre for Vision Research: How quarterbacks' brains control their hand-eye coordination and allow split-second plays

New research from York University is the first to show how several distinct brain areas control eye and hand movements – explaining, for example, how a quarterback can make a split-second play with pinpoint accuracy. The study, recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience, examined the inner workings of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), located […]

Canadian Jewish News covers Sherman Health Science Research Centre opening

It used to be a hockey arena. Now it houses the latest functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, wrote the Canadian Jewish News Sept. 22: Last week, York University officially opened the Sherman Health Science Research Centre, a facility for research in brain and vision, biomechanics, virtual reality and robotics. Planning for the facility, which […]

York study on gay men's brains covered on TIME.com, other international outlets

Gay men can recall familiar faces faster and more accurately than their heterosexual counterparts because, like women, they use both sides of their brains, according to a new study by York University researchers. The study published in the journal, Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition and led by Psychology Professor Jennifer Steeves in the […]

Gay men's bilateral brains better at remembering faces: York U study

Gay men can recall familiar faces faster and more accurately than their heterosexual counterparts because, like women, they use both sides of their brains, according to a new study by York University researchers. The study, published in the journal, Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, examined the influence of gender, sexual orientation and whether […]