What we study

Our research aims to understand the neuroscience behind integration of cognitive processes and emotional content. It focuses on the intricate interactions of sensation, perception and emotion. We investigate the features of our environments, assessed across all sensory modalities, that tag objects and events with meaning, and how these features can impact our experience the world.

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James Kryklywy

Principal Investigator

James obtained his B.Sc. (Psychology & Physiology, 2009) and Ph.D. (Neuroscience, 2016) from the University of Western Ontario, before completing postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at the University of British Columbia. James is currently an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Lakehead University.

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Research Areas

In the Integrated Cognition and Emotion lab, we aim to understand and describe human emotion.

We use data acquired through functional neuroimaging, psychophysiological recordings, behavioural experimentation and virtual reality to investigate how we attribute meaning to sensory information and how this meaning can colour our experience of the world.

Click below to learn more about these research areas, and how they fit into our overall researh program.

Emotion in the brain

How does emotional information change how our brain functions? Where do emotional signals get processed and how do they change our internal represetnation of the world? To ask these questions we use ...

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Emotion in the body

When we encounter something emotional in our environment, our body reacts. We see characteristic psychiological responses in times of stress or calm, but how do we cater these to specific situations? To ...

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Emotion in behaviour and perception

Emotional information can act as a motivation, driving patterns of behaviour and perception. The specific sensory modality we acquire this information is also linked to unique patterns of behaviour...

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Emotion in virtual reality

**NEW to the ICE lab!**
To assess multisensory emotional experience, we are excited be expanding our research methodologies to include immersive audio-visual virtual reality.

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Lakehead University

Unconventional. Exceptional.

Nestled under the shadow of the stoic Sleeping Giant, our Thunder Bay campus is among the most picturesque in the nation. Take advantage of the vibrant, natural laboratories right in our backyard. The northern landscape presents ample opportunity for world-class outdoor activities in beyond the traditional classroom experience.

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