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COGNITION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING RESEARCH GROUP
@ DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
Adult fNIRS
How does the brain respond to different types of speech?
We are excited to invite you to participate in our fNIRS study exploring how the brain processes various types of words. This is an in-person study at Dalhousie University. This study is available to any monolingual English speakers between the ages of 17-65 who have normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing. To thank you for your participation and support, you will receive a $20 amazon gift card.
Who are the researchers working on this project?
Dr. Drew Weatherhead
Assistant professor,
Dalhousie University
Luke Forsyth
Research Assistant
Interested in participating?
To participate please email us at GCLL@dal.ca to confirm eligibility and schedule a time to come to our lab.
What do you need to take part?
This study involves passively listening to speech. To participate, you will need:
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To schedule a 90-minute appointment at our lab, located in the Life Sciences Centre at Dalhousie University.
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To wear a special cap, provided by us, that can measure brain activity during the study. Please note that wearing this cap will require you to remove any head garments.
Want to know more?
More information about the study and what you will be asked to do can be found below in our FAQ section below.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the study or need assistance with scheduling an appointment, please email us at GCLL@dal.ca and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.
If you have any ethical comments, questions, or concerns, please reach out to the lead researcher at Drew.Weatherhead@dal.ca
FAQ
What is the purpose of our study?
Canada is a linguistically (e.g., accents) diverse environment. However, our knowledge of how the brain compensates for this diversity and potential limits to that compensation is lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate how the brain responds to a diverse range of speech stimuli. This will help us discover the neural mechanisms that underlie our ability to understand verbal language in our everyday life. This information can show us where understanding breaks down and be used to help educators, policy makers, and everyday Canadians better communicators.
Who can take part?
Monolingual English speakers between the ages of 17 and 65, who have normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing.
What will you be asked to do?
You will be asked to listen to various speech stimuli while focusing on an image. You will be asked to wear a special cap so we can measure brain activity during the experiment. The fNIRS cap emits safe, non-invasive light into the head to measure blood flow and oxygen levels in the brain.
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Who will you work with?
Dr. Drew Weatherhead will be conducting the study with assistance from honours student Luke Forsyth, and trained undergraduate researchers. The primary researchers have experience working with and conducting research with adults and children, and all individuals involved in the study have undergone Criminal and Vulnerable Record checks, as well as a Child Abuse Registry check.
What will we do with the information?
Once collected, data will not be linked directly to participant names or birth dates, except through an ID number on separate, encrypted, and password-protected spreadsheets, to which only the primary researchers will have access. Findings from the study will be shared as the results of all participants combined and will be published in scientific journals, educational conferences, and on our labs social media. Additionally, you have the choice of receiving a letter with a summary of our findings for the group as a whole.
For more detailed information about the study, feel free to download and view our consent form by clicking the red pdf icon.
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