Dr. Stevenson is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Brain & Mind Institute at the University of Western Ontario. His research focuses on sensory perception across the lifespan, specifically how changes in sensory perception influence cognitive processes such as speech perception. This work includes research with neurotypical populations and special populations including individuals with autism spectrum disorders and cochlear implant users. He uses behavioural measures, advanced neuroimaging techniques (fMRI and EEG), and neuropsychological measures to approach this research from multiple perspectives.

Karen is a psychology research specialist at the University of Toronto. She is interested in exploring links between sensory perception and emotional regulation in children with behavioural and neurological disorders, with an eye towards applications for interventions such as dialectical behaviour therapy.  Her 4th year thesis will examine the relationship between hypersensitivity, anxiety, aggression and repetitive behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders. If she isn’t thinking about research, Karen is wondering where she can find guacamole. Or cake.

Aviva is a fourth year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, and a research assistant in the Ferber and MacDonald labs. Her research interests are varied and multi-disciplinary, spanning perception in unique populations, attachment in adult relationships, how improvisation shapes self-narratives, and scene perception. The common question in all these research topics is: how do environmental factors act on the mind to create different experiences? More specifically, how is perception mediated by factors like Autism, and likewise, what factors in the environment are perceived especially differently in ASD populations?

Ze Yuan is a third year undergraduate student in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. She currently volunteers as a research assistant  working on how speech perception, a complex process that requires multisensory binding, could correlate with autistic traits in the general population. She is also interested in finding the differences in perception across all modalities as well as differences in binding between the general and ASD populations.

Jennifer is a second year Honours Bachelor of Science candidate at the University of Toronto, specializing in psychology.  She is a new Research Assistant in Dr. Ferber’s lab and in Dr. Ferrari’s lab at OISE.  Inspired by her professional work as a dancer and actress, Jennifer is interested in exploring the cognitive performance of elite athletes and dancers as affected by their specific neuromuscular expertise, especially in terms of attention and memory. She is fascinated by the effectiveness of motor imagery (mental rehearsal) on sport performance, as mediated by it’s temporal congruency with actual performance and  arousal of the autonomic nervous system. Currently, Jennifer is investigating the temporal modulation of audio-visual processing in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with Dr. Stevenson.