Chris Eliasmith, Director of the Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience, received the prestigious John C. Polanyi Award and is also an inaugural member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.
Contact information
Office: Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology Building (PAS) 4040
Phone: 519-888-4567 x37014
Email: jdancker@uwaterloo.ca
Webpage: James Danckert's website
Website: Danckert Attention and Action Group
Appointed to Psychology in Behavioural Neuroscience.
Cross-appointed to the Research Institute in Aging.
Education
PhD, La Trobe University (2000)
MA, La Trobe University (1997)
BASc, Melbourne University (1994)
Research
Dr. Danckert’s research explores the role of parietal cortex in the control of visually guided actions and examines the consequences of injury to this part of the brain. He has published in NeuroReport, Brain and Cognition, Neuropsychology, Psychological Medicine, Neuropsychologia, Perception and Psychophysics, Psychological Science among others.
His work focuses on a disorder known as unilateral neglect in which patients behave as if one half of their world has ceased to exist. His recent work on this disorder has involved using prismatic lenses that lead to a shift in visual perception in the patient, as a means of attempting to rehabilitate the disorder. Important findings from this work have provided insights into the disorder that have lead to dramatic changes in neurocognitive models of right parietal function.
Nevertheless, important aspects of the neglect syndrome remain a mystery, including disproportionate effects of prismatic adaptation in patients and dissociations in motor and perceptual skills post-adaptation.
His research is funded by National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF), Canadian Foundation for Innovation/Ontario Innovation Trust (CFI/OIT), and Early Researcher Award (ERA).