Examining brain activity and sport-specific skill learning due to motor imagery

This research will use a brain imaging device newly developed by Axem Neurotechnology to investigate whether providing real-time information on levels of brain activity can help human participants more effectively engage in mental practice. Mental practice has become a widespread addition to the training schedules of elite athletes, as it has been well documented that […]

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Supporting Social Inclusion and Well-Being in Metro Vancouver

Social relationships are important for our physical and mental health. In 2012, the Vancouver Foundation conducted a survey to measure how connected and engaged residents are in Metro Vancouver. They found that 1 in 4 Metro Vancouver residents report being alone more often than they would like. Of even greater concern, 1 in 10 residents […]

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Regulating Abnormal Connectivity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder via Real-time fMRI Neurofeedback – Year two

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by decreased prefrontal cortex (PFC) regulation on hyperactive emotion generation regions, such as the amygdala. Real-time (rt)-fMRI neurofeedback allows for localized brain regions to be self-regulated through neuroimaging signal feedback. Recently within our lab, learning to decrease amygdala activation via neurofeedback was shown to normalize the neural […]

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User experience heuristics in extended reality

We now live in a world where people can communicate, in real-time, both directly and remotely (e.g., Skype); and where new technologies (e.g., virtual reality, robots, driverless cars) are blurring the traditional lines of human-human and human-computer interactions. The digital world of industry is experiencing a revolution. Products that have traditionally been displayed on computer […]

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Adapting a Culture of Sustainability for multi-tenant office buildings

Current approaches to engaging employees in sustainability are ineffective as they focus on increasing one simple behaviour (such as the amount of paper recycled). Research is now moving away from promoting individual behaviours of employees towards fostering a more sustainable corporate culture. However, little research is known about how organizations can foster a Culture of […]

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Cannabis, Mindfulness and Yoga

Cannabis-enhanced yoga known as “Ganja Yoga” is an ancient practice that is burgeoning in North America, providing opportunities for both the cannabis industry and the yoga industry. While there is an accumulation of anecdotal reports regarding Ganja Yoga, there is yet to be research conducted on this topic. Delineating the prevalence, motives, mechanisms, risks, and […]

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Economic Impact of Tourism in Kingston

At this juncture, much data on tourism in Kingston has been collected. However, no appropriate statistical method and analysis has been implemented yet to understand these data. The current project thus aims to create a benchmark for tourism data for Kingston by adopting various modelling techniques (e.g., Hierarchical Linear Modelling (Gelman, 2007), Multilevel Modeling (Green […]

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Efficacy of a perceptive-cognitive training to improve ice-hockey performance

The Neurotracker training requires participants to follow and identify holographic tennis balls moving randomly in a 3D environment. The company developing this training, CogniSens, inc. claims that it can improve sports performance by enhancing, among others, selective attention and working memory. This research project tests the efficacy of the NeuroTracker training to improve sports performance […]

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The Essence of Improvisation: Promoting Emotional Fitness in Employees, Products, and Customer Experiences

My proposal directly builds on my Ph.D. work, which has concerned how musical and theatre improvisation can be applied in business and public health settings to promote cognitive and social-cognitive goals. In particular, Lululemon is interested in harnessing the cognitive principles underlying improvisation in order to promote emotional fitness in two complimentary ways––at a human […]

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Validation of novel neurofeedback training engine for improving brain health in aging and neurodevelopmental disorders – Year two

Memory impairment is the most common complaint associated with aging. Promising interventions based on research are generally reserved for clinical settings. Technological advancement has now made it possible to administer neurofeedback, an established technique for self-regulating brain waves, using portable technology. xSensa Labs, the partner organization, has developed a digital solution that translates research protocols […]

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