Prof to talk about brain function at psychology conference

Gary Turner

Psychology Professor Gary Turner (BA Spec. Hons. ’99) will talk about cognitive neuroscience research, the brain and ways to improve its functioning as the keynote speaker at the 42nd annual Ontario Undergraduate Psychology Thesis Conference being held this year at York.

The conference will take place Friday, April 27, from 9am to 4pm, with registration beginning at 8am, in Vari Hall Rotunda, Keele campus. Everyone isGary Turner welcome to attend. Lunch will be held served for $10, followed by a mix and mingle period for those who register for lunch ahead of time by e-mailing psyconf@yorku.ca.

Right: Gary Turner

Turner, of York’s clinical neuropsychology program, will deliver the keynote at 9am in Vari Lecture Hall A. He will discuss behaviour-based rehabilitation interventions to improve cognitive executive brain functioning in persons with healthy aging, acquired brain injury or brain disease. Executive functions involve the coordination and integration of specific cognitive processes, such as memory, sensory processing and language, in the service of more complex, goal-directed behaviours such as planning, problem-solving, multi-tasking and inhibitory control.

The conference offers undergraduates from across the province the opportunity to learn, present and network, while also celebrating the completion of their degree or thesis. A poster presentation of undergraduate students’ research will be on display in Vari Hall Rotunda throughout the day. Students will also have the opportunity to give oral presentations on their research to their colleagues in 10 classrooms in Vari Hall.

There will be about 270 presenters and more than 300 attendees from universities across Ontario at the conference, which is open to the entire York community. With research topics ranging from clinical to social development to neuropsychological, it is a great way for students and faculty from other Ontario universities to learn about student research.

Abstracts outlining all of the research being presented, as well as the time and locations, are available by visiting the Ontario Undergraduate Psychology Thesis Conference website.

The event is hosted by York’s Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health.