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Ph.D. (1992)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Daphne
Bavelier
Assistant Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive
Science and Center for Visual Science; Department of Radiology
Primary Appointment:
Brain and Cognitive
Sciences
GEBS Cluster Affiliations:
NS
- Neuroscience
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Research:
[short description] |
Contact Information:
E-Mail: [EMAIL] |
University of Rochester
The
College, Arts & Sciences
Meliora Hall
Rochester, NY 14627
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Medical Center [room]
Phone: (716) [tele]
Fax: (716) [number] |
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Research
Overview
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| Discussions of neuro-cognitive development have
long been dominated (and stifled) by the 'nature-nurture' debate.
Although most current investigators acknowledge the role of
biological constraints imposed by the genotype, a strict view
of predetermined epigenesis appears unviable as more research
documents the role of experience in both gene expression and
other chemical and physiological developmental events. It is
now clear that development relies on a dynamic and complex interplay
between predetermined genetic events and environmental events.
My work explores the role that early life experience plays in
determining the cerebral organization of the adult brain by
comparing congenitally deaf adults to hearing adults. To compare
across population, I use behavioral measures (such as measure
of reaction times) as well as functional brain imaging (such
as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).
The main line of research investigates the impact of early
deafness in the organization of the visual system. To achieve
this goal, I first characterize the processing steps during
visual analysis in hearing individuals. Then, I study whether/how
the steps identified in these studies are modified in deaf
subjects. In particular, I am exploring the properties of
visual attention and visual selection in hearing adults and
I am specially interested in testing the hypothesis that congenitally
deaf individuals have enhanced visual attention capabilities.
Additionally, I also study how early deafness and early acquisition
of a visuo-spatial language like American Sign language affect
the cerebral organization for language.
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Recent Publications
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- Bavelier, D., Corina, D., Jezzard, P., Clark, V. P., Karni,
A., Lalwani, A., Rauschecker, J., Braun, A., Turner, R.
& Neville, H. (1998)
- Specialization for English and American Sign Language:
Left Invariance, Right Variability. Neuroreport, 9, 1537-1542.
- Neville, H. and Bavelier, D. (1998)
- Neural organization and plasticity of language. Current
Op. in Neurobiology. 8, 254-258.
- Bavelier, D., Corina, C. and Neville, H. (1998)
- Brain and Language: A perspective from Sign Language.
Neuron, 21, 275-278.
- Bavelier, D. (1999)
- Role and Nature of Object Representations in Perceiving
and Acting. In Coltheart, V. (Ed), Fleeting Memories, Boston:
MIT Press. pp. 151-180.
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Back to Brain and Cognitive
Sciences
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