Lab Facilities and Equipment

Research in the CulhamARI Lab uses cognitive neuroscience techniques to study vision and visuomotor control (see further details here). I aim to make the lab a fun, supportive, stimulating and well-funded environment.

The lab is part of the larger Brain and Mind Institute and is housed in the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, which provides modern, state-of-the-art facilities for cognitive neuroscience. The lab benefits from access to personnel and resources supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund BrainsCAN grant to Western University.

The lab is affiliated with the Canadian Action and Perception Network - CAPNet, and an NSERC CREATE training grant on The Brain in Action between Western, York and Queen’s Universities and German universities in Giessen and Marburg. We are also part of the Lake Ontario Virtual Reality Consortium.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

The Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping at Robarts Research Institute hosts 3-Tesla and 7-Tesla MRI scanners for human use (along with a 9.4-Tesla animal scanner).

NEW! A new PROPixx 3D MRI-Compatible Projector will enable us to present compelling 3D displays at high spatial and temporal resolution during functional MRI

Hardware for studying grasping, reaching, tool use, and real object recognition in the MRI scanner

The "D.R.O.I.D." (Delivery of Real Objects for Imaging Device), a conveyor belt apparatus that can present a series of real-world objects with block designs or rapid event-related designs.

The "Grasparatus", a pneumatically controlled rotating drum to present graspable stimuli rapidly in succession.

Coils and apparatus to enable participants to directly view the workspace of the hand without mirrors.

MR-Eye MRI-Compatible Motion Capture System, the only MRI system with in-bore cameras, developed by Northern Digital Inc. in collaboration with our group.

6 high-end PC workstations running Brain Voyager software

Behavioral Research

Several Optotrak Motion Capture Systems (Northern Digital Inc.) for recording kinematics in the behavioral lab

An SR Research EyeLink 1000 eye tracker

Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, and 3D Displays

A Varjo XR-1 mixed-reality head-mounted display for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality with high-resolution foveated rendering and built-in eye tracking

An Oculus Rift CV-1 head-mounted Virtual Reality display

Valve Index and Oculus Touch VR Controllers; High end computer for rendering VR

3D monitors

Two high-end cameras (Sony A7R III mirrorless cameras with 55 mm lenses) to capture images and videos that closely match the 3D views of the two eyes

Access to Shared Resources

The Brain and Mind Institute and BrainsCAN grant offers access to a wide variety of shared equipment for cognitive neuroscience including the following:

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) NIRScout system from NIRx with 128 sources and 64 detectors (which each measure 4 wavelengths) to enable up to 300 channels and hyperscanning of up to four participants

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Electroencephalography and Event-related Potentials (ERPs)

Neuropsychological Testing (with limited access to patients)