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About

        Established in 2020 by Dr. Shanna Kousaie, the Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism Lab is composed of graduate students, honours                  students, research assistants, and volunteers.

Research in the lab uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and behavioural measures to understand the links between bilingual language experience, cognition, and brain structure and function.

Currently, we are collecting data for the study "Multimodal measures of the interaction between cognition and language experience". If you are between the ages of 18 and 35, are monolingual or English-French bilingual, and are interested in participating in this study please contact cogneuro.bilingualism@uottawa.ca.

We are also commencing a new study “Neurocognitive measures of the impact of language experience on cognitive reserve in aging and cognitive impairment” that is examining the influence and mechanism(s) of bilingual language experience as a protective factor in cognitive aging.

The lab is also interested in developing an objective way to measure relative language proficiency using speech samples collected from participants in different past and ongoing studies in the lab.

Students interested in volunteering, completing an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) project, an honours thesis, or graduate studies with the Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism Lab should contact Dr. Shanna Kousaie.

Dr. Kousaie can supervise graduate students in the Clinical and Experimental Psychology program as well as undergraduate students completing their honours thesis.

Please include your contact information, transcript, and CV.

Thank you for your interest in our lab!

Research Activities

Are you interested in participating in Cognitive and neuroscience research? Take a look at our current projects! All of our projects have a cash compensation when you complete the study! 

Multimodal measures of the interaction between cognition and language experience (18-35)

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This study aims to understand the links between bilingual language experience, cognition, and brain structure and function. The study consists of three sessions:

  • Behavioural
  • EEG
  • MRI.

Once all of the sessions are complete, you will receive a cash compensation as a thank you for helping our research and you will also receive an image of your brain!

If you are between the ages of 18 and 35, are monolingual or English-French bilingual, and are interested in participating in this study please contact cogneuro.bilingualism@uottawa.ca.

Neurocognitive measures of the impact of language experience on cognitive reserve in aging and cognitive impairment (65+)

This upcoming study is examining the influence and mechanism(s) of bilingual language experience as a protective factor in cognitive aging. This activity consists of two sessions: 

  1. Behavioural and EEG 
  2. MRI

This activity is looking for English-French bilingual individuals aged 65+.

Members

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Dr. Shanna Kousaie

Lab Director

Assistant Professor

 
Dr. Kousaie's general research interests are in the interaction between language and cognition in terms of brain structure and function. The goals of her research are to use a multi-method cognitive neuroscience approach to examine questions about how language experience influences: (1) language processing in both a native and non-native language; (2) executive function and cognitive processes more generally; and (3) age-related changes in language processing, communication, and cognitive function.

 

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Somayya Saleemi

Doctoral Student

Somayya Saleemi (she/her) is a Doctoral student at the University of Ottawa in the Clinical Psychology program. Her research is focused on the effects of bilingualism on cognition and aging. Other areas of interest include child psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and research ethics.

She completed her Hons. BSc. in Psychology from York University in Toronto, followed by an Ontario Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research from Humber College.

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, swimming, and spending time with her three cats named Potter, Weasley, and Hermione.

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Jasmine Lee

Doctoral Student 

Jasmine is pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa. Her thesis research explores neurocognition, bilingualism and executive functioning across the lifespan, with a focus on bilingualism as a mitigating factor in neurodegeneration in aging.

Prior to her current studies, she completed her B.A. & Sc. in Honours Cognitive Science and M.Sc. in Neuroscience at McGill University.

 

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Lauren Cooper-Ballinger

Honours Student

Lauren is a 4th year in the BSc Psychology program at uOttawa. She previously volunteered with the CNB lab, and she is very interested in the neuroscientific approach towards language and cognition.

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Patrice Yazdanyar

Lab Coordinator

Patrice graduated with an Honours B.A. in Psychology in 2021 at the University of Ottawa; he completed his Honours Thesis in the Cognitive Aging and Driving Laboratory. Patrice is currently the lab coordinator for the CNB lab and the Child Development Laboratories. 

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Madeline Smith

Research Assistant

Madeline was an honours student during the 2023-24 academic year and recently graduated with her Honours BSc in Psychology. Her honours thesis focused on determining an objective measure of second language proficiency and the potential relationship between objective proficiency and executive function. She has continued in the lab as a research assistant, helping with behavioural, EEG and MRI testing.

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Avery Lyness

Honours Student

Avery is in her fourth year of her B.A. in Psychology. She is currently completing her honours thesis in the CNB lab. Her interests include executive functioning and bilingualism. She will be conducting behavioral, EEG and MRI research, focusing on MRI for her thesis.
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Éliane Lafortune

Honours Student

Éliane is a fourth-year psychology student at the University of Ottawa. She is interested in the effects of bilingualism on executive functioning. She contributes to behavioral testing with younger adults. Her honors thesis will explore EEG results in language and spatial tasks, for monolingual and bilingual participants

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Melody Shabani

Research Assistant

Melody is a 2nd year Health Sciences Honours student at the University of Ottawa. She volunteers in the CNB lab, helping to test participants using the EEG. She is interested in learning and using different methods of neurocognitive testing such as the electroencephalogram, behavioral testing and MRI, in the hope of gaining further insights into the underlying relationships between bilingualism and neurocognition.

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 Sofia Thivierge

Research Assistant

Sofia is a second-year Joint Honours BA student in Psychology and Linguistics at uOttawa. Currently, she is working on developing measures of second language proficiency, based in linguistic theory, for use in bilingualism studies. She is interested in studying how language relates to both neuroanatomy and cognitive processes, as well as the impact of syntactic and semantic information on emotional processing.

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Ansh Lavatre

Research Assistant

Ansh is a 3rd-year student at the University of Ottawa studying within the Honors of Health Sciences program. Helping behind the scenes, Ansh assists in keeping the general database up to date on a daily basis across the several labs within the research group. As a student fascinated by the science behind human health and functioning, he is interested in the link between neurocognition and behavioral outcomes from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

 



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Francesca Carraro

Research Assistant

Francesca is a  3rd year student in the Honours B.A Psychology program at uOttawa! She assists in testing participants using electroencephalography (EEG) in the CNB Lab. Francesca is eager to investigate how language experience shapes language processing, executive function, and cognitive changes using a combination of behavioural, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques.
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Maria Provenzano

Research Assistant

Maria is a 4th year student in the Honours B.A Joint Psychology and Linguistics program at uOttawa. She assists with behavioural testing in the CNB lab and is interested in learning more about bilingual language experience and its effects on language processing and executive functioning. Her interest in the field of psycholinguistics has motivated her to pursue a career in speech pathology and provide support for those with language impairments. 



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Emma Moores

Research Assistant

Emma was an honours student during the 2023-24 academic year with the University of Ottawa’s Language Development Lab, and recently graduated with an Honours BSc in Psychology. Her honours thesis focused on word recognition in noisy conditions for infants with varying levels of language exposure. Emma has since joined the CNB lab as a research assistant, helping with participant recruitment and screening, as well as scheduling and managing testing sessions, ensuring that day to day operations of the lab run smoothly.

 



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Duru Ünal

Research Assistant

Duru is a 2nd year student in the Honours B.A. Psychology program at the uOttawa. As a research assistant in the CNB lab, she contributes to behavioral testing with both younger and older adults. Her primary interest lies in understanding the brain's structure and function, which fuels her aspiration to become a clinical psychologist. Duru is dedicated to expanding her knowledge and gaining practical experience, with the goal of one day helping individuals navigate their mental health challenges. 

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Talia Salzman

Research Assistant

Talia is a PhD candidate in Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on using dual-tasks and neuroimaging, including EEG and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), to identify neural, motor, and behavioural measures that differ between older adults with and without subjective cognitive decline. In the CNB lab, Talia will be helping with data collection and analysis to better understand the relationship between language experience and cognition in bilinguals. 



CNB Alumni

  • Younes El Hamdany (Baccalauréat en art, spécialisation psychologie ’23)
  • Britney Hammell (Bachelor of Arts, Honours Psychology, minor in Health Sciences ’23)
  • Emma Kazmierowski (Bachelor of Arts, Honours Psychology, minor in Linguistics ’23)
  • Naya Goguen (Baccalauréat en sciences, spécialisation psychologie '22)
  • Maxine Montpetit (Baccalauréat en sciences, spécialisation psychologie '22)
  • Hannah Kalil (Bachelor of Arts, Honours Psychology ’22)
  • Ariane Chartrand (Baccalauréat en art, spécialisation psychologie ’22)
  • Anna Marinescu (Baccalauréat en art, spécialisation psychologie ’24)

News from the CNB Lab

Check out what we've been up to!

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Canadian Psychological Association 2024

Jasmine showcasing her work at the Canadian Psychological Association 2024 conference!

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ACFAS 2023

We were thrilled to have three of our students (Younes, Jasmine, and Anna) present their work at the ACFAS 2023 conference!

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CSBBCS 2023

Here's one of our grad students, Jasmine, sharing her work at CSBBCS 2023! 

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Centre for Research on the Brain, Language and Music, Montreal

We were so excited to see Jasmine give a talk on De-mystifying Knowledge Translation at the Centre for Research on the Brain, Language and Music in Montreal!

Partners

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