Research

Rotman Research Institute

The Rotman Research Institute (RRI) is a premier international centre for the study of human brain function.

The primary research focus is on memory and the executive (frontal lobe) functions of the brain, both in normal aging and in the presence of diseases and conditions which affect the brain, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

World renowned scientists at the RRI promote effective care and improved quality of life of the elderly through research into behavioural changes associated with the aging process.

Randy McIntosh (top), Director, Rotman Research Institute

Current Studies

Tapping onto early language acquisition processes may help people with dense amnesia: study

Scientists Asaf Gilboa and Morris Moscovitch from Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute, University of Toronto, and Tali Sharon from Haifa University, utilized "fast mapping" with patients with dense amnesia to help them learn novel names of fruits and animals such as mangosteen and numbat.
Music-supported training for stroke rehabilitation treatment

In this study, scientists Bernhard Ross, Takako Fujioka, Jon Ween, Claude Alain and Donald Stus s, aim to produce and evaluate behavioural improvements by providing music-supported training to stroke rehabilitation treatment. These physiological and behavioural data will tell how much the music-supported training can benefit motor rehabilitation. At the same time we shall examine healthy age-matched subjects for potential benefits in cognitive and motor functions.
Vowel Training: Neurophysiological studies of age-related changes in auditory perception

Scientists: Cristina Saverino, Claude Alain

Sensory cortices exhibit an astounding degree of plasticity during development, particularly in childhood and early adolescence. The objective of the current study will be to examine whether young and older adults display similar changes in cortical activity during an auditory perceptual learning task. More>>