Overview
Mission
The Collaborative Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (CCNL) at the University of Rhode Island is comprised of researchers within the College of Health Sciences, including Kinesiology, Physical Therapy, and Communication Disorders. The group is committed to working with scientists within CHS as well as other disciplines and partnered institutions to investigate neural mechanisms associated with cognitive health across the lifespan.
About
The Collaborative Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (CCNL) at the University of Rhode Island is comprised of researchers within the College of Health Sciences, including Kinesiology and Communication Disorders. The group is committed to working with scientists within CHS as well as other disciplines and partnered institutions to investigate neural mechanisms associated with cognitive health across the lifespan.
By using a multidisciplinary approach to tackle complex problems, our laboratory attempts to answer questions which require insight from several disciplines studying human behavior and the brain. The laboratory’s goal is to foster collaborations among researchers using neuroscience to inform our basic understanding of the interaction between brain and behavior.
Our laboratory utilizes technologies such as eye-tracking and EEG to provide a window into the neural substrates associated with language and cognition.
The CCNL is dedicated to support teaching and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students interested in cognitive neuroscience. We strive to be a research community which prepares students through innovative training to excel in future clinical and academic healthcare careers.
Our laboratory is funded through the College of Health Sciences as independent grants awarded to our scientists.
Current Projects
Autism study partnering with Haskins Laboratories
We are partnering with research scientists, Julia Irwin, PhD and Nicole Landi, PhD, to better understand how children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) learn language. We employ EEG and eye-tracking technologies to study how children and adolescents with autism (10-18 year olds) along with their parents integrate visual information with what they hear and how that affects their ability to learn language.
Neurobiological markers of language and literacy in bilingual and monolingual children
This study incorporates two child-friendly technologies, EEG and eye-tracking, to measure neurophysiological aspects of reading in both monolingual and bilingual 1st and 2nd grade children. In addition to EEG and eye-tracking, children participated in language and reading assessments, both in English and in Spanish, to gather data on their learning profiles. The goals of the project include defining particular aspects of the learning profile for bilingual readers as well as identifying effective interventions to support reading achievement in bilingual and monolingual populations.
Theracycle study
In collaboration with faculty in Kinesiology and Physical therapy, we aim to better understand how short bouts of exercise on two different stationary bikes may differ and how exercise may impact cognition for neurotypical adults and adults with Parkinson’s Disease.
Physical Activity, Language, ADHD, Children, Executive Functioning (PALACE) study
In collaboration with Kinesiology Assistant Professor, Nicole Logan, PhD, we aim to understand how body composition and exercise impact language, attention, inhibition, and academic success in 6-10-year-old children with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
People
Directors
Collaborators
Assistant Professor
Physical Therapy
Assistant Professor
Department of Kinesiology
Associate Professor
Department of Kinesiology
Current Students
Former Students
Publications
Baron, A., Harwood, V., Kleinman D., Campanelli, L., Molski, J., Landi, N., Irwin, J. (2023). Where on the face do we look during phonemic restoration: An eye-tracking study. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1005186. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1005186
Harwood, V., Kleinman, D., & Puggioni, G., Baron, A. (2022). The P300 Event Related Potential Predicts Phonological Working Memory Skills in School-Aged Children. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 918046. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.918046
Harwood, V., Preston, J., Baron, A., Kleinman, D., Landi, N. (2022). Event-related potentials to speech relate to speech sound production and language in young children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 47(2), 105-123. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2022.2036154