Research Interests

My research interests are primarily in human neuropsychology, and, more specifically, in the effects of right parietal brain lesions on behaviour. Right parietal lesions often lead to the disorder of neglect – the inability to attend or respond to stimuli in left visual space. Put simply, neglect patients behave as if one half of the world has simply ceased to exist.  My research explores the nature of this fascinating disorder as well as examining the benefits and limitations of a recent rehabilitation technique which uses prismatic lenses.  More recently, we have developed a model of neglect which suggests the disorder is best characterised as an inability to update internal representations of the external world and the patient's current or future goals for action.  The methodologies we employ include behavioural studies (i.e., examining reaction times), kinematic measures (i.e., eye and hand movements) and functional MRI, which we conduct at Grand River Hospital.  We recently established a database of neurological patients who are willing to participate in research which now has over 200 patients enrolled. In addition to the neglect research my lab is interested in how the brain perceives time and integrates temporal perception with spatial processes. We are also exploring the consequences of traumatic brain injury (usually from acceleration/deceleration injuries) on measures of sustained and transient attention and the more general experience of boredom. This work is also developing definitions of boredom and is exploring the physiological signature of the experience (i.e., using galvanic skin responses, heart rate and cortisol measures).

Funding sources:  NSERC, CFI, HSF, ERA

Neurological Patient Database website http://npd.uwaterloo.ca/ 

Selected Publications

• Danckert, J., Ferber, S., Doherty, T., Steinmetz, H., Nicolle, D., & Goodale, M. A. (2002) Selective, non-lateralised impairment of motor imagery following right parietal damage. NeuroCase, 8, 194 - 204.
• Danckert, J., Revol, P., Pisella, L., Vighetto, A., Goodale, M., & Rossetti, Y. (2003) Measuring unconscious actions: Exploring the kinematics of pointing movements to targets in the blind field of two patients with hemianopia. Neuropsychologia, 41, 1068 - 1081.
• Danckert, J., Mirsitari, S., Danckert, S., Wiebe, S., Blume, W., Menon, R., & Goodale, M. (2004) Spared somatomotor and cognitive functions in a patient with a large porencephalic cyst revealed by fMRI. Neuropsychologia, 42, 405 - 418.
• Danckert, J., Saoud, M., & Maruff, P. (2004) Attention, motor control and motor imagery in schizophrenia: implications for the role of the parietal cortex. Schiziophrenia Research, 70, 241 - 261.
• Danckert, J., & Rossetti, Y. (2005) Blindsight in action - what does blindsight tell us about the control of visually guided actions? Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews, 29(7), 1035-1046..
• Ferber, S., & Danckert, J. (2006) Lost in space - the fate of memory representations for non-neglected stimuli. Neuropsychologia.44(2), 320 - 325
• Danckert, J., Allman, A. (2005) Time flies when you're having fun: Temporal estimation and the experience of boredom. Brain and Cognition. 59, 236 – 245
• Danckert, J. (2005) From the Novel to the Familiar--Searching for Symbiosis in the Right and Left Frontal Lobes. Cortex, 41. 87 - 89
• Danckert, J, & Ferber, S. (2006) Revisiting unilateral neglect. Neuropsychologia, 44. 987 – 1006.
• Danckert, J., Ferber, S., Pun, C., Broderick, C., Striemer, C., Rock, S., Stewart, D. (2007)Neglected time: impaired temporal perception of multi second intervals in unilateral neglect. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 1706 - 1720.
• Danckert, J, Mirsattari, S. M., Bihari, F., Danckert, S., Allman, A., Janzen, L. (2007) Functional MRI characteristics of a focal region of cortical malformation not associated with seizure onset. Epilepsy & Behavior, 10, 615-625.
• Danckert, J., Ferber, S., Goodale, M. A. (2008) Direct effects of prismatic lenses on visuomotor control: An event-related functional MRI study. European Journal of Neuroscience. 28, 1696-1704.
• Danckert, J., Goldberg, L., Broderick, C. (2009) Damage to superior parietal cortex impairs pointing in the sagittal plane. Experimental Brain Research, 195, 183-191.

Graduate Course

Psych 783: Neuroimaging and Cognition

The first section of this course (~ 3 to 4 lectures worth) will introduce you to the fundamental aspects of functional MRI both in terms of the physics involved and the issues surrounding design and analysis (some comparison with other brain imaging techniques such as VEPs, TMS, PET etc. will also be covered). The second section intends to explore how fMRI can illuminate our models of various aspects of cognition, including attention, vision, language, memory and learning, executive functions, emotion and if time permits, various neuropathologies.