Welcome to the Paus laboratory. We are interested in the structural and functional organization of the human brain and the forces, in our genes and environment, that shape our brain and behaviour. Currently, we are pursuing two overarching themes:

1. Organizational and activational effects of sex hormones vis-a-vis social cognition and neural connectivity;
2. Neural underpinnings of mental health during adolescence, with a particular emphasis on addiction and depression.

In this work, we use both population-based and experimental approaches.

Population-based studies allow us to address questions about the role of genes and the environment in shaping the human brain and behaviour. These studies typically use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; structural and functional) of the human brain, in combination with a detailed assessment of cognition and mental health, in a large number of individuals recruited from the general population. We also collect DNA and detailed questionnaire-based information about individuals' exposures (e.g. smoking during pregnancy) and experiences (e.g. stressful life events). Over the past five+ years, we have been focusing on the adolescent brain through the following population-based studies: Saguenay Youth Study, ALSPAC, and IMAGEN. At present, we are expanding this work to include a strong trans-generational component. The first of such studies involves a Canada-Finland collaboration investigating the brain & behaviour of middle-aged parents and their offspring, members of the Saguenay Youth Study and the Northern Finland Birth Cohort.

Experimental studies allow us to test some of the specific hypotheses arising from the above population-based studies. We do so in small studies carried out in healthy volunteers or patients with specific disorders and/or in experimental models. In these studies, we use not only MRI but also other tools such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG) and a combination of TMS with positron emission tomography (PET) and/or EEG. Work in experimental models (mice, rats) allows us to understand cellular processes underlying findings obtained in vivo in the human studies.

Our work is highly collaborative and spans a number of disciplines, from physics through genetics and epidemiology to psychiatry, psychology and sociology. This is also reflected in the varied background of our trainees.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique which uses a rapidly changing magnetic field to induce, through the skull, an electrical current in a localized region of the cerebral cortex.  This allows researchers to study the functioning and interconnections of the human brain. A variant of TMS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), has been tested as a treatment tool for various neurological and psychiatric disorders including migraines, depression and movement disorders.

Lab Members

Staff

Dr. Rosanne Aleong

Post-doctoral Fellows

Dr. Erin Dickie

Dr. Marzia Pesaresi

Graduate Students

Ammar Khairullah

Irum Nawaz Khan (Nottingham)

Klara Mareckova

Daniel Shaw (Nottingham)

Deborah Schwartz

Angelita Wong

Research Assistants

Courtney Gray

 

Dr. Rosanne Aleong

Presently, I am the Program Manager in the Paus laboratory at the Rotman Research Institute. My research interests include the neural correlates of body perception in adolescents and their impact on clinical conditions including anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

Klara Mareckova

I completed my MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging at the University of Nottingham in 2009, worked as a research assistant for the European project Imagen, and then moved with the Paus Lab to the Rotman Research Institute to start my PhD. I am interested in the effects of prenatal and postnatal hormones on neural connectivity and social cognition. My research uses fMRI, eye-tracking, and behavioral tasks.

Deborah Schwartz

I am a PhD student in psychology at the University of Toronto. I am interested in exploring the non-reproductive effects of steroid hormones throughout the body, especially in the central nervous system. My PhD research centers on exploring lifelong risk factors of dementia, in particular the roles of steroid hormones and adiposity. Other projects I am working on include: exploring the relationship between ovarian hormones and mood; investigating changes in attention and working memory across the menstrual cycle; and using personality based measures of psychopathic tendencies to explore psychopathy in adolescent populations.

 

 

 

Ammar Khairullah

I am working on my Master's through the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. My research in the Paus Lab will examine the relationship between testosterone levels, structural properties of white matter, and risk of mental health problems during male adolescence.

 

External Collaborators

The Hospital for Sick Children

Dr. Zdenka Pausova

Manon Bernard

Dr. Melkaye Melka

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Dr. Greg Stanisz

University of Quebec a Chicoutimi

Dr. Louis Richer

CEGEP de Jonquiere

Dr. Michel Perron

Nadine Arbour

Marie-Eve Bouchard

Annie Gauthier

Pierre Ouellette

Helene Simard

Dr. Patrick Vachon

Centre affilie universitaire regional de Chicoutimi (CSSS de Chicoutimi)

Dr. Daniel Gaudet

McGill University

Dr. Michal Abrahamowicz

Dr. Suzanne King

Dr. Gabriel Leonard

Dr. Bruce Pike

Dr. Robert Zatorre

University of Montreal

Dr. Patricia Conrod

Dr. Jean Seguin

MIND Research Network

Dr. Vince Calhoun

Dr. Angela Bryan

Dr. Sarah Feldstein

Dr. Renee Magnan

Dr. Judith Segall

Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Elizabeth Susman

University of California Los Angeles

Dr. Shahrdad Lotfipour

Cardiff University

Dr. John Evans

Dr. Derek Jones

Oxford University

Dr. Kate Watkins

University of Bristol

Dr. George Davey Smith

Dr. Beate Glaser

Dr. Carol Joinson

Dr. Glyn Lewis

Dr. Margaret May

Larisa Duffy

Emma Evans

Sarah Thompson

University of Glasgow

Dr. Marie-Helene Grosbras

University of Nottingham

Dr. Eamonn Ferguson

Dr. Penny Gowland

Dr. Nadja Heym

Dr. Claire Lawrence

University of Oulu

Dr. Juha Veijola

Dr. Hanna Ebeling

Dr. Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin

Dr. Vesa Kiviniemi

Dr. Pirjo Maki

Dr. Jouko Miettunen

Dr. Irma Moilanen

Dr. Anja Taanila

University of Turku

Dr. Solja Niemela

For more information about the Paus laboratory, please contact:

Dr. Rosanne Aleong
3560 Bathurst Street
Brain Health Complex Room 1022
Toronto, Ontario
M6A 2E1

Telephone: 1-416-785-2500 ext. 3620
Fax: 1-416-785-4230
E-mail: raleong@rotman-baycrest.on.ca