Claude Alain

B.A. (Universite Laval), M.A. (Universite du Quebec a Montreal), Ph.D. (Universite du Quebec a Montreal)

Professor of Psychology

Senior Scientist, Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest Centre

  • Telephone: 416-785-2500 ext. 3523 (Work) 905-882-5401 (Home)
  • FAX: 416-785-2862
  • E-mail: calain@rotman-baycrest.on.ca

Research Interests

Selected Publications

Research Group

Current Activities

Cognitive Neuroscience

My research is in the field of cognitive neuroscience and focuses on the brain processes that mediate perception and cognition of auditory patterns and events, specifically short-term memory and selective attention. I use a combination of neuroimaging techniques (e.g., ERPs, PET, and fMRI) to investigate which, and how, different brain areas work together when participants' attention is directed to a particular sound identity and/or sound location in the auditory field. The hypothesis is that the auditory system provides the listener with the identity of the event as well as its location, i.e. the what and the where, and that these two types of information are provided by different areas of the brain. I am also interested in the neural and psychological mechanisms that underlie auditory scene analysis and how these mechanisms are influenced by the aging process. 

Selected Publications

  1. Alain, C., Woods, D. L., Knight, R. T. (1998). Distributed cortical network for sensory memory in humans. Brain Research, 812, 23-37.
  2. Alain, C. & Arnott, S.R. (2000). Selectively attending to auditory objects. Frontiers in Bioscience, 5, 202-212.
  3. Picton, T.W., Alain, C., Otten, L., Ritter, W., & Achim, A. (2000). Mismatch negativity: Different water in the same river. Audiology and Neuro-otology, 5, 111-139.
  4. Alain, C. & Arnott, S.R., Hevenor, S., Graham, S., & Grady C L. (2001). "What" and "Where" in the human auditory system. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, 98, 12301-12306.
  5. Alain, C. & Arnott, S.R., & Picton, T.W. (2001) Bottom-up and top-down influences on auditory scene analysis: Evidence from event-related brain potentials. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27, 1072-1089.
  6. Alain, C., McNeely, H., He, Y., Christensen, B., & West R. (2002). Neurophysiological evidence for error monitoring deficit in patients with schizophrenia. Cerebral Cortex, 12, 840-846.
  7. Trainor, L.J., Mcdonald, K.L., & Alain, C. (2002). Automatic and controlled processing of melodic contour and interval information as measured by event-related brain potentials. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 430-442.
  8. McNeely, H.E., West, R., Christensen, B.K., & Alain, C. (2003). Neurophysiological Evidence for Disturbances of Conflict Processing in Patients With Schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 679-688.
  9. Izenberg, A., & Alain, C. (2003). Effects of Attentional Load on Auditory Scene Analysis. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 15, 1063-1073.
  10. Arnott, S. R., Grady, C. L., Hevenor, S., Graham, S., & Alain, C. (2005).  The functional organization of human auditory working memory as revealed by fMRI.  Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 819-831.
  11. McDonald, K. L. & Alain, C. (2005).  Contribution of harmonicity and location cues to auditory object formation in free field: Evidence from event-related brain potentials.  Journal of Acoustical Society of America, 118, 1593-1604.
  12. Snyder, J., Alain, C., & Picton, T. W. (2006).  Differential effects of attention on segregation and buildup of auditory streams: evidence from event-related potentials.  Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 1-13.
  13. Alain, C., Snyder, J. S., He, Y., Reinke, K.  (In press).  Changes in auditory cortex parallel rapid perceptual learning.  Cerebral Cortex.
  14. Snyder, J.S., & Alain, C. (In press).  Sequential auditory scene analysis is preserved in normal aging adults.  Cerebral Cortex.

Research Group

Postdoctoral Fellow Dawei Chen, from University of Manitoba
Ph.D. Student Ben Zendel
Research Assistant Yu He
Research Assistant Kelly McDonald
Research Assistant Sandra Campeanu

Current Activities

We are currently conducting several experiments that focus on the neural correlates of auditory scene analysis using either EEG, MEG and/or fMRI.
For instance, there are projects on:
1. Age-related difference in auditory cortical activity underlying concurrent sound perception.
2. Age-related difference in identifying and localizing auditory object using fMRI.
2. Roel of musical expertise on auditory scene analysis.
 
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