FACULTY OF SCIENCE Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

FACULTY OF SCIENCE Department of Psychology THE2016-2017 AnnualMAILROOM Newsletter DOORand Neuroscience

FACULTY OF SCIENCE Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Dalhousie University The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience consists of 25 full-time faculty and five part-time faculty who exhibit a strong committment to integrating their research interests into their training and teaching. The department has clear strengths in the high calibre of research expertise and level of funding achieved to support this research.

FACULTY OF SCIENCE Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

FACULTY OF SCIENCE Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

FACULTY OF SCIENCE Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Message from the Chair Tara Perrot, PhD

Thanks to staff and faculty for meeting with me during January. It was nice to hear from everyone and I learned a lot about each of you, but more so, about the department.

Overwhelmingly, people had positive things to say about being part of our department. That is not to say that things couldn’t be better and I also heard many suggestions for improvements. We will have a chance to discuss these as part of strategies for moving forward at the retreat on June 17. The date was chosen to accommodate as many people as possible through the doodle poll, so obviously some of you can’t make it.

Even if you can’t be there, your opinions are welcome. You can direct general departmental comments or strategy ideas to me or Suzanne, comments regarding the The summer is a time to gather our thoughts undergraduate program to Leslie Phillmore, for the next year. This will be a challenging comments about space to Ray Klein, and year for us as we face the repercussions of a comments regarding the graduate program number of retirements. By working to Gail Eskes. Don’t forget that there will be together, I have no doubt that we can a pre-retreat session specifically to discuss continue to achieve research excellence and graduate program issues on June 7 from 9am continue to be strong and relevant in our to noon. undergraduate and graduate training. The retreat will afford us an opportunity to You will see in the following pages that we forge at least the beginning of a plan that we had numerous things to celebrate this past can build upon. term, including many awards to faculty and students. Suzanne King was hired to replace The summer is also a time for vacations and Mary MacConnachie in March and has been spending more time with friends and family. doing a wonderful job supporting the Chair’s I wish you all a great summer. office. Also, please join me in welcoming Sean Mackinnon as a continuing Instructor in Cheers, the department, beginning July 1. Tara Perrot Spring Convocation

Congratulations to over 200 Psychology & Neuroscience alumnae who crossed the stage on June 1st.

We welcome ...

45 Bachelor of Arts (BA) 172 Bachelor of Science (BSc.) 1 Master of Science (MSc.) 3 (Ph.D)

... graduates to our alumni family

Special thanks to Dr. Sherry for giving a captivating convocation address!

SPECIAL RECOGNITION Graduation Prizes

Governor General’s Gold Medal Sarah Kraeutner

This award is presented to a graduate in the Faculty of Graduate Studies who have achieved overall academic excellence. Two gold medals are awarded; one to the most outstanding Master’s graduate in the Natural Sciences and Engineering, and one to the most outstanding Master’s graduate in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Faculty of Science Medals University Medal in Psychology University Medal in Neuroscience Jaimie Beveridge Hayam Hamodat

Medals are awarded to an Honour’s graduate in recognition of superior achievement Jaimie Beveridge holding her in his/her field of study. One medal is awarded per department. University Medal in Psychology at Spring Copnvocation dal.ca/convocation #DalGrad MAIN OFFICE MAILROOM

Changing Spaces

SEMINAR ROOMS CLASSROOM EVENTS

CLINICAL COMMUNITY RECOGNITION BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK APPRECIATION NIGHT March 18 October 6 Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign designed to increase A huge thank you to all of you that helped make the CCRA a great public awareness of the progress success yesterday! Thank you to the committee for all your hard work and benefits of brain research. The before, during and after and thank you to Elaine, Suzanne, Logan and event took place on March 14-18, Jamie who were also a huge help! - Alissa Pencer and unites the efforts of various organizations to celebrate and educate people of all ages about the brain.

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CROSSROADS March 17 Crossroads is an adjudicated and peer-viewed event that emphasizes the importance of understanding health through interdisciplinary research. It provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate, graduate and professional program students from across Canada to showcase and engage in discussions about their innovative health-related research. OPEN HOUSE 2015 Read the Dal News Story October 21 A big thanks to everyone who used their Saturday to help out with the Open House (Oct. 24th)! Thanks to Jen Stamp, Janusz Borycz, and John Christie, as well as the DAPS and UNS volunteers. This year was a huge success - our first session was standing room only. We had so many students visit our table that we ran out of booklets! - Leanne Stevens

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THRIVE March 14 DISCOVERY AWARDS A University-wide mental wellness initiative was November 24 launched on March 14th, aimed at building a At the 13th edition of the annual event last Thursday, Dalhousie positive mental health environment for faculty, researchers from the Faculties of Science and Medicine walked away with staff, and students. wins in three of the four major categories: Innovation, Professional of Distinction and Emerging Professional. Read Dal News Story

Read the Dal News Story

. FEATURED EVENT | Dalhousie Defeat Depression

The Dalhousie PROsocial Project is taking part in the Defeat Depression fundraising walk to support the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax/Dartmouth.

This organization does great work in our community, and as the PROsocial Project hosted our own “Dalhousie Defeat Depression” fundraiser in the Fall- we are taking part in their event October 7, 2016.

Learn more about Defeat Depression. Dalhousie Project Staff The Dalhousie University research team is made up of Co-PIs Drs. Michael Teehan and Sherry Stewart, Dr. Kara Thompson, Research Assistants Jennifer Swansburg and Parnell Davis-MacNevin, and Graduate Student Annie Chinneck. Media Highlights

Publication in Focus Steps to better sleep Narcissistic Perfectionists Hurt Those Katie Birnie Dr. Penny Corkum Around Them Being a Role Model for Undergraduate The big, big one in today’s society, that Simon Sherry Women in Science by Living Out Our research is showing to have a huge impact, “It is our working hypothesis … that proximity to a Own Professional and Personal Goals is electronics in the bedroom. PhD Candidate, Clinical Psychology narcissistic perfectionist is hurtful, it damages you” The Chronicle Herald Read Article in Focus DAL Media Highlight | CBC News

The real masters of sex at Nova ew study looks at the role siblings can Diabetes Sniffing Dog Studies N Catherine Reeve Scotia’s only sex research lab play in a child’s experience with pain “That’s in itself quite rewarding to know Dr. Natalie Rosen & PhD. Students, Meghan Schinkel you could help contribute to the field of Kate Rancourt, Maria Glowacka “I hope the study will give us information to share research and help improve the lives of “There are a number of improvements with parents and health care professionals around people with diabetes” we need to make in regards to sexual having a sibling present when a child is in pain” health in Nova Scotia” CBC News | DAL Media Highlight CTV News @ 5 | CBC The Coast Researchers scan the brain for clues on Research by Dal prof shows brain processes sign language like Great Sexpectations smoking and addiction spoken languages Dr. Sarah Vanier Kim Good Dr. Aaron Newman “It’s almost like having romantic beliefs is like “We were interested in trying to determine what “It tells us that sign language is really putting on rose-coloured glasses: you see the is different. Why is it that some people are able to engaging language-specific areas of the world through that lens, through those beliefs” quit and other peple aren’t? brain” Dal News DAL Media Highligjht | Herald News Global News

FEATURED STUDY | Better Nights, Better Days

Penny Corkum, PhD and a national team of researchers including Dal- housie University’s Christine Chambers, PhD are preparing to launch a randomized controlled trial assessing a new online sleep program this summer! Better Nights, Better Days is an online program designed to offer accessible support to parents with children 1-10 years old who have sleep problems. Research shows up to 25% of children suffer from insomnia, a problem that includes having trouble settling down at the end of the day, falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking too early.

Very few children with insomnia receive behavioural treatments despite the vast amount of evidence sup- porting their success. This is primarily due to a shortage of available treatment resources. The interactive and dynamic online program aims to help parents understand their child’s sleep problems and provide evidence-based FEATURED PRESENTATION | Teacher Help strategies to help their child sleep better, all from the comfort of their own home. Focusing on behavioural principles, the intervention en- courages positive behaviours that will help children learn to settle down more quickly at bedtime and achieve a better quality of sleep throughout the night. Anyone who is a parent/guardian knows, when children sleep better they lead healthier and happier lives. The study will be evaluating the effectiveness of both the delivery and usability of the online program. The researchers ultimately hope to provide a more accessible way of delivering sleep healthcare to families and health- care professionals. If you, or any parent/guardian you know might like to participate, please visit betternightsbetterdays.ca to self- screen and submit your email to be contacted when the study opens, or contact [email protected].

Follow Us! Twitter @Betternightsday Facebook facebook.com/betternightsdays Instagram @betternightsbetterdays Pinterest pinterest.com/betternightsbet/

Faculty Kudos

Congratulations are extended to the following Psychology and Neuroscience faculty members for their achievements and awards.

Faculty of Science Killam Professorship 2016 Jeffrey Lawson Award for Advocacy in (July 1, 2016-June 30, 2021) Children’s Pain Relief Christine Chambers Christine Chambers The award recognizes advocacy efforts to improve manage- Faculty of Science Excellence in ment of pain in children. The award will be presented at the Teaching Award American Pain Society’s Awards Reception. Jennifer Stamp

Alzheimer’s Association Grant Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award Tamara Franklin Leanne Stevens The Alzheimer’s Association Research (AARG) fund Faculty of Science Killam Prize investigators conducting Alzheimer’s and related Simon Sherry dementia fields of research. The grant supports early-career development that will lay the groundwork for DSU Teaching Award future research grant applications. Kevin Duffy Awarded at the 2016 Impact Awards The Royal Society of Canada The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists 2016 Award for Excellence in Christine Chambers Graduate Supervision Christine Chambers The newly elected Fellows are elected by their peers in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic Discovery Award (Third Finalist) achievement. Election to the academies of the Royal Society Natalie Rosen of Canada is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.

APPOINTMENTS Donald Mitchell | NSERC Discovery Grant Committee until June 2018 Simon Gadbois |University Teaching Fellow effective July 1st Jennifer Stamp |University Teaching Fellow effective July 1st Kevin Duffy | Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigators Review Panel Sean Barrett | Promotion to Full professor effective July 1, 2016 Aaron Newman | Promotion to Full professor effective July 1, 2016

Faculty Highlight We are very excited to introduce our newest instructor to the department. Sean Mackinnon has accepted the position of continuing Quantitative Instructor.

Welcome to the team, Sean! Student Kudos

Beatrice Award: Language & Literacy Lab 2015 Thesis Defenses Clinical Sudent Citizenship Teba Hamodat (2014-2015) Received an Undergraduate Amanda Green Marcel Peloquin Student Research Award (USRA) and February 11, 2015 Awarded annually to the graduate student the IWK Summer Student Award Tara Perrot’s Lab in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program, who is deemed to have been the “best Jabran Umar Kathryn Birnie, PhD citizen” and the most positively helpful or supportive to fellow students (graduate Received an Undergraduate September 11, 2015 or undergraduate), chosen by their peers. Student Research Award (USRA) Congrats to Marcel, and thanks for being Ainsley Boudreau, PhD such a wonderful and positive presence in Kyle Levesque October 15, 2015 our Program! Confirmed Research Associateposi - Ken Sullivan, MSc The award has been presented at the tion at the Florida Center for Reading December 4, 2015 Terry Anders Memorial Lecture. Research at Florida State University Sean Roach, PhD January 29, 2016 Karen Nicholson Prize Elizabeth MacKay Accepted into the Clinical Matthew Hilchey, PhD in Neuropsychology (2016) program and received Killam February 11, 2016 Yasmin Beydoun Predoctoral, NSGS, and SSHRC funds Ralph Redden, MSc The award has been presented at the March 28, 2016 Science Atlantic Psychology conference at the Universite de Moncton. Katelynn Boerner, PhD - - - Killam Laureate Profile May 19, 2016 Jasmyn Cunningham (2015) Perri Tutelman Morgan Johnson (2014) View Profile

2016 Impact Awards Rising Star Awards March 24 Jacob Hamilton (Neuroscience) Mukisa (Kisa) Kakembo (Psychology) TheIMPACT Awards is an event held annually by Dalhousie Student Union Student Wellness Award (DSU), in collaboration with DAL to Anthony Saikali (Neuroscience) recognize outstanding individuals & student groups & the impact that Certificate of Distinction Katherine Dib (Neuroscience) their contributions have made to their community. Gold D Yasmin Bedouin (Neuroscience) Read the Dal News Story Jad Sinno (Neuroscience) Winners of the Rising Star Award, Jacob and Mukisa. Student Internship Placements

We are very proud of our newly minted interns and wish them every success and enjoyment in the year to Student Scholarships come.We are very pleased to announce the following students’ internship placements for the year 2016/17:

Katelynn Elizabeth Boerner Congratulations to those current and incoming graduate Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario students who have received new scholarships for 2016-2017: Ottawa, ON CIHR SSHRC NSGS Masters: Masters: Jamie Lee Collins Kathleen Merwin Masters: Colin Pridy Sara Bartel Calgary Clinical Psychology Program Erin Dempsey Elizabeth Mackay Erin Dempsey Calgary, AB Sara Bartel Doctoral: Jason Isaacs Nicole Ali Elizabeth Mackay Sarah Peverill Vanier: Annie Chinneck Colin Pridy Marcel Peloquin Perri Tutelman Ivy-Lee Kehayes Dylan Miller Saskatoon Health Region Ryan Wheeler Saskatoon, SK Killam-1 NSHRF Doctoral: Colin Pridy Jason Isaacs Chris Friesen Elizabeth Mackay Christiane Whitehouse Ivy-Lee Kehayes Jennifer Richards Erin Dempsey Ivy-Lee Kehayes Edmonton Consortium Sarah Peverill Sara Bartel Annie Chinneck Perri Tutelman Edmonton, AB Nicole Ali Killam-2 NSERC Tib Ioan Mahu Roxanne Sterniczuk Noelle Strickland Masters: Kathleen Merwin Baycrest Tib Ioan Mahu Ryan Wheeler Christiane White- Sarah Kraeutner house Toronto, ON Doctoral: Tony Ingram Noelle Strickland RJ Redden Eliza Ritchie Doctoral Entrance Scholarship Sarah Peverill

Experimental Program Clinical Program Welcome Our Robin Curtis, University of British Columbia Sara Bartel, University of Saskatchewan New Graduate Supervisor: Chris Moore Supervisor: Simon Sherry/Sherry Stewart Erin Dempsey, Dalhousie University Students of Supervisor: Isabel Smith Neuroscience Program 2016-2017 Dylan Miller, Michigan State University Elizabeth MacKay, Dalhousie University Supervisor: Shelley Adamo Supervisor: Hélène Deacon

Ryan Wheeler, Dalhousie University Colin Pridy, Dalhousie University Supervisor: Ian Weaver/Tamara Franklin Supervisor: Margo Watt/Sherry Stewart

Filip Kosel, Simon Fraser University Noelle Strickland, Carleton University Supervisor: Tamara Franklin Supervisor: Sherry Stewart

Kristen Lee, University of British Columbia Jason Isaacs, York University Supervisor: Ian Weaver Supervisor: Penny Corkum

Alex Lingley, Dalhousie University Justin Dube, University of Toronto Supervisor: Kevin Duffy Supervisor: Natalie Rosen Publications

Marrie RA, Fisk JD, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren, S, Tennakoon A, Leung S, Patten Academic Papers SB, on behalf of the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Alberts, N. M., Hadjistavropoulos, H. D., Sherry, S. B., & Stewart, S. H. (2016). Linking Multiple Sclerosis “Differences in the burden of psychiatric comorbidity in MS versus illness in parents to health anxiety in offspring: Do beliefs about health play a role? the general population” Neurology, 2015 Dec 1;85(22):1972-1979. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 44, 18-29. McSweeney, J., Rainham, D., Johnson, S. A., Sherry, S. B., & Singleton, J. (2015). Battista, S., Mackinnon, S. P., Sherry, S. B., Barrett, S. P., Davis MacNevin, P., & Indoor nature exposure (INE): A health promotion framework. Health Promotion Stewart, S. H. (2015). Does alcohol reduce social anxiety in daily life? A 22-day International, 30, 126-139. experience sampling study. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 34, 508-528. Mitchell, D.E., MacNeil, K., Crowder, N.A., Holman, K. and Duffy, K.R. The recovery Bergey, B. W., Deacon, S.H., & Parrila, R. (2015). The metacognitive reading and study of visual functions in amblyopic felines following brief exposure to total darkness. strategies and academic achievement of university students with and without a history Journal of Physiology 594: 149-167, 2016. DOI: 10.1113/JP270981 of reading difficulty. Journal of Learning Disabilities. Advanced online Publication. doi: 10.1177/0022219415597020 Nealis, L. J., Sherry, S. B., Sherry, D. L., Stewart, S. H., & Macneil, M. A. (in press). Revitalizing narcissistic perfectionism: Evidence of the reliability and the validity of an Berrigan LI, Fisk JD, Patten SB, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren S, Fiest KM, McKay KA & emerging construct. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. Marrie RA on behalf of the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis (ECoMS). “Health-Related Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis: Nealis, L. J., Sherry, S. B., MacNeil, M. A., Sherry, D. L., & Stewart, S. H. (2015). Direct and Indirect Effects of Comorbidity”, Neurology, 2016;86:1417-1424. Toward a better understanding of narcissistic perfectionism: Evidence of factorial validity, incremental validity, and mediating mechanisms. Journal of Research in Choi, W., Tong, X., & Deacon, H. (in press). Double dissociations in reading Personality, 57, 11-25. comprehension difficulties among Chinese-English bilinguals and their association with tone awareness. Journal of Research in Reading. Sherry, D. L., Sherry, S. B., Hewitt, P. L., Mushquash, A., & Flett, G. L. (2015). The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Tests of Deacon, S.H., Tong, X., & Francis, K. (2015). The relationship of morphological analysis incremental validity, gender differences, and moderated mediation. Personality and and morphological decoding to reading comprehension. Journal of Research in Individual Differences, 76, 104-110. Reading. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/1467-9817.12056 Sherry, S. B., Stoeber, J., & Ramasubbu, C. (2016). Perfectionism predicts self- Duffy, K.R., Lingley, A.J., Holman, K.D. and Mitchell, D.E. Susceptibility to monocular defeating behaviors beyond self-criticism: Evidence from a cross-national sample deprivation following immersion in darkness either late into or beyond the critical of Canadian and British undergraduates. Personality and Individual Differences, 95, period. Journal of Comparative Neurology (in press). 196-199. Fiest KM, Fisk JD, Patten SB, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren S, McKay KA, Berrigan L, Smith, M. M., Saklofske, D. H., Yan, G., & Sherry, S. B. (2016). A person-centered Marrie RA for the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on perspective on multidimensional perfectionism in Canadian and Chinese university Multiple Sclerosis (ECoMS) “Fatigue and comorbidities in multiple sclerosis” students: A multigroup latent profile analysis. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and International Journal of MS Care, 2016;18(2):96-104. Development, 44, 135-151. Fiest KM, Walker JR, Bernstein CN, Graff LA, Zarychanski R, Abou-Setta AM, Patten Smith, M. M., Saklofske, D. H., Yan, G., & Sherry, S. B. (2016). Cultural similarities in SB, Sareen J, Bolton JM, Marriott JJ, Fisk, JD, Singer, A, Marrie RA for the CIHR Team: perfectionism: Perfectionistic strivings and concerns generalize across Chinese and Defining the burden and managing the effects of psychiatric comorbidity in chronic Canadian individuals. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and immunoinflammatory disease. “Systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions Development, 49, 63-76. for depression and anxiety in persons with multiple sclerosis” Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 2016;1(5):12-26. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Rnica, K., Saklofske, D. H., Enns, M. W., & Gralnick, T. M. (2016). Are perfectionism dimensions vulnerability factors for depressive symp- Fiest, KM, Fisk, JD, Patten, SB, Tremlett, H, Wolfson, C, Warren, S, McKay, K, Berrigan, toms after controlling for neuroticism? A meta-analysis of 10 longitudinal studies. LI, Marrie RA for the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on European Journal of Personality, 30, 201-212. Multiple Sclerosis (ECoMS).”Comorbidity is Associated with Pain-Related Activity Limitations in Multiple Sclerosis” Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, Smith, M. M., Saklofske, D. H., Yan, G., & Sherry, S. B. (2015). Perfectionistic 2015;4(5):470–476. strivings and perfectionistic concerns interact to predict negative emotionality: Support for the tripartite model of perfectionism in Canadian and Chinese university Gautreau, C. M., Sherry, S. B., Battista, S., Goldstein, A. L., & Stewart, S. H. (2015). students. Personality and Individual Differences, 81, 141-147. Enhancement motives moderate the relationship between high arousal positive moods and drinking quantity: Evidence from a 22-day experience sampling study. Drugs and Sparks, E. & Deacon, S.H. (2016, July). Have you seen its stress friends? Item- and par- Alcohol Review, 34, 595-602. ticipant-level predictors of adults’ sensitivity to word endings as stress cues. Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Porto, Portugal. Gautreau, C. M., Sherry, S. B., Mushquash, A. R., & Stewart, S. H. (2015). Is self-critical perfectionism an antecedent of or a consequence of social anxiety, or both? Stoeber, J., Sherry, S. B., & Nealis, L. J. (2015). Multidimensional perfectionism and A 12-month, three-wave longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 82, narcissism: Grandiose or vulnerable? Personality and Individual Differences, 80, 85-90. 125-130. Tucker, R., Castles, A., Laroche, A., & Deacon, S.H. (2016). The nature of orthographic Gautreau, C. M., Sherry, S. B., Sherry, D. L., Birnie, K. A., Mackinnon S. P., & learning in self teaching: Testing the extent of transfer. Journal of Experimental Child Stewart, S. H. (2015). Does health-related catastrophizing maintain health-related Psychology, 145, 79-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.12.007 anxiety? A 14-day daily diary study with longitudinal follow-up. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 43, 502-512. Zhang T, Tremlett H, Tennakoon A, Leung S, Zhu F, Kingwell E, Fisk JD, Bhan V, Campbell T, Stadnyk K, Yu N, Marrie RA on behalf of the CIHR Team in the Epide- Keough, M. T., Battista, S. R., O’Connor, R. M., Sherry, S. B., & Stewart, S. H. miology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis “Examining the effects of (2016). Getting the party started–alone: Solitary predrinking mediates the effect of comorbidities on disease-modifying therapy use in multiple sclerosis” Neurology, social anxiety on alcohol-related problems. Addictive Behaviors, 55, 19-24. 2016;86:1287–1295. Keough, M. T., O’Connor, R. M., Sherry, S. B., & Stewart, S. H. (2015). Context counts: Solitary drinking explains the association between depressive symptoms and alcohol-related problems in undergraduates. Addictive Behaviors, 42, 216-222. Lee-Baggley, D. L., Nealis, L. J., & Sherry, S. B. (in press). Working with Chapters perfectionists in a clinical context: A practitioner’s perspective. In A. P. Hill (Ed.), Deacon, S.H., Tucker, R., & Bergey, B. (in press). The role of metalinguistic and Perfectionism in sport, dance, and exercise. New York, NY: Routledge. socio-cognitive factors in reading skill. In E. Segers & P. van den Broek (Eds.), Con- tinuities in language and literacy development. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins McKay KA, Tremlett H, Fisk JD, Patten SB, Fiest K, Berrigan LI, Marrie RA for the CIHR Publishing Company. Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis (ECoMS) “Adverse health behaviours are associated with depression and anxiety in multiple scle- Deacon, S.H., Tong, X., & Mimeau, C. (in press). Morphological and semantic process- rosis: a prospective multi-site study.” Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 2016 Apr;22(5):685-93. ing in developmental dyslexia across languages: A theoretical and empirical review. In C. Perfetti & L. Verhoeven (Eds.), Dyslexia across languages and writing systems: A Marrie RA, Patten SB, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren S, Svenson LW, Jette N, Fisk handbook. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. JD on behalf of the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis “Sex differences in comorbidity at diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: A Deacon, S.H., Desrochers, A., & Levesque, K. (in press). Reading acquisition in French. population-based study” Neurology, 2016;86:1279–1286. In C. Perfetti & L. Verhoeven (Eds.), Reading acquisition across languages and writing systems. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Marrie RA, Fisk JD, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren, S, Blanchard S, Patten SB, on behalf of the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis Deacon, S.H., & Sparks, E. (2015). Children’s spelling development: Theories and “Differing trends in the incidence of vascular comorbidity in MS and the general popu- evidence. In A. Pollatsek & R. Treiman (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Reading. New lation” Neurology: Clinical Practice, 2016;6:1–9. York, NY: . Presentations

Brain Repair Centre, Halifax - Brain Awareness Week Public Lecture Mimeau, C., Ricketts, J., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, July). The role of orthographic ‘Be Calm! - Your Kids Will Thank You’ and semantic learning in word reading and reading comprehension. In V. H. P. van Daal & N. Conrad (Chairs), Orthographic learning. Symposium Cassetta B, Ebert PL, Ingles J, Fisk JD “Use of semantic cueing in adults with conducted at the meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, amnestic mild cognitive impairment and typically aging adults.” 44th Annual Porto, Portugal. Scientific and Educational meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology, Calgary Alberta, October 23-25, 2015. Mimeau, C., Laroche, A., Tucker, R., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, June). The relation between syntactic awareness and use of context in word reading: The role of Chung, S.C., Deacon, S.H., Chen, X., Commissaire, E., D’Angelo, N., Laroche, semantics. Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Clinical A., & Krencha, K. (2016, April). Testing the self –teaching hypothesis in children Phonetics and Linguistics Association, Halifax, Canada. learning to read French as a second language. Poster. American Educational Research Association, Washington, D.C. Pendse Shaw, L., Mimeau, C., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, April). How children transfer knowledge from reading to spelling novel words. Poster session Ebert PL, Ingles J, Cassetta B, Fisk JD “Recall consistency in adults with presented at the meeting of Speech-Language and Audiology Canada, Halifax, amnestic mild cognitive impairment and typically aging adults” 8th Canadian Canada. Congress on Dementia October 1-3, 2015, Ottawa, Ontario. Pendse Shaw, L., Mimeau, C., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, April). Children’s extraction Ebert PL, Ingles J, Cassetta B, Fisk JD “Semantic, serial, and subjective and transfer of word knowledge from reading novel complex words. Poster clustering in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and typically aging session presented at the meeting Nova Scotia Developmental Psychology, adults.” National Academy of Neuropsychology 35th Annual Conference, Halifax, Canada. Austin, Texas, November 5, 2015. Pendse Shaw, L., Mimeau, C., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, June). The effect of Fisk JD, Armstrong J, Bhan V, Campbell TL, Stadnyk K, Marrie RA “Changes diversity on how children learn words from reading. Poster session presented at in Neurologic Disability and Health-Related Quality of Life Utility Over 8 Years the meeting of the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association, in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.” American Academy of Neurology Annual Halifax, Canada. Meeting, Vancouver BC, April 16, 2016. Abstract number 2437; Poster # P1-389. Research Day commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Neuroscience Koch MW, Greenfield J, Bhan V, Wall W, Murray TJ, Fisk JD, Metz LM Health Graduate Program, Western University, London, ON ‘Sex, Stress & Students - A related quality of life in MS is associated with annual household income 31st 20-year Journey’ Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Barcelona, Spain, (eposter 1344) October 8, 2015. Multiple Sklar, K., Mimeau, C., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, June). Can adults learn new rules in Sclerosis Journal 2015; 23: (S11) 702-3. spelling? Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association, Halifax, Canada. Levesque, K., Kieffer, M. J., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, June). Qualifying the relationship between morphological awareness and reading through Sklar, K., Mimeau, C., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, April). Learning to spell: longitudinal model. To be presented at the International Clinical Phonetics and Frequency-based versus rule-based learning. Poster session presented at the Linguistics Association Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. meeting of Speech-Language and Audiology Canada, Halifax, Canada. Levesque, K., Kieffer, M. J., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, July). Investigating the Sparks, E., Macdonald, R., & Deacon, S.H. (2016, June). Processing stress in relationship between morphological awareness and children’s ability to read written words: The effects of exposure to stress cues. International Clinical morphologically complex words: Evidence from longitudinal modeling. To be Phonetics and Linguistics Association Conference, Halifax, NS, Canada. presented at the 23rd annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Porto, Portugal. Tucker, R., Mimeau, C., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, June). The Simple View of Reading: How do syntactic and morphological awareness fit in this simple MacKay, E., Levesque, K., & Deacon, S. H. (2016, June). The morphological model? Paper session presented at the meeting of the International Clinical awareness and specific word reading strategies of unexpected poor Phonetics and Linguistics Association, Halifax, Canada. comprehenders. Poster to be presented at the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Wijnands JMA, Hoegg T, Zhu F, Kingwell E, Zhao Y, Fisk JD, Evans C, Ekuma O, Carruthers RL, Marrie RA, MD, PhD; Tremlett H, “Risk of infection-related MacKay, E., Laroche, A., Parrila, R., & Deacon, S. H. A beginning exploration of hospitalizations in people with primary-progressive relative to relapsing-onset text generation in university students with a history of reading difficulties. multiple sclerosis.” American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Vancou- Poster to be presented at the 23rd annual meeting of the Society for the Scien- ver BC, April 18, 2016. Abstract number 366; Poster #P3-353. tific Study of Reading, Porto, Portugal. Wojtowicz M, Kim Good K, Storey C, Lewis D, Armstrong M, McKelvey JR, Marrie RA, Fisk JD, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren S, Patten SB, CIHR Team in Robertson H, Fisk JD “Olfaction, Attention Performance, and Response Speed the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity in Multiple Sclerosis “ Variability in Early Parkinson’s Disease.” American Academy of Neurology Generalized increase in the burden of psychiatric comorbidity in multiple Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC, April 20, 2016. Abstract number 3172; Poster sclerosis as compared to the general population: a population-based Canadian #P5-375. study” 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Barcelona, Spain, (p275) October 8, 2015. Wojtowicz M, Good K, Storey C, Lewis D, Armstrong M, McKelvey JR, Robert- Multiple Sclerosis Journal 2015; 23: (S11) 97–8. son H, Fisk JD. “Olfaction and Cognition in First-Degree Relatives of Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.” International Neuropsychological Society Annual Marrie RA, Patten SB, Greenfield J, Tremlett H, Wolfson C, Warren S, Svenson Meeting, February 5, 2016, Boston, MA, USA. LW, Jette N, Fisk JD, for the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis. “Physical Comorbidities are Associated with Wojtowicz M, Good K, Storey C, Lewis D, Armstrong M, McKelvey JR, an Increased Risk of Psychiatric Comorbidity in Multiple Sclerosis.” American Robertson H, Fisk JD. “Olfaction, Information Processing Speed, and Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC, April 20, 2016. Abstract Performance Variability in Early Parkinson’s Disease.” International number 713, Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis Platform presentation Session Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting, February 5, 2016, Boston, MA, S37-004. USA. Mayo C, Mazerolle E, Ritchie L, Fisk JD, Gawryluk J. “An investigation of the Zhang T, Tremlett H, Leung S, Zhu F, Kingwell E, Fisk JD, Bhan V, Campbell relationship between microstructural white matter and cognitive performance in TL, Stadnyk K, Yu BN, Marrie RA for the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Alzheimer’s disease” Canadian Psychological Association, 77th Annual Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis“Examining the Effects of Convention, June 9-11, Victoria, BC Comorbidities on Disease-Modifying Therapy Use in Multiple Sclerosis” American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC, April 17, McKay KA, Tremlett H, Fisk JD, Patten SB, Fiest K, Berrigan L, Campbell T, 2016. Abstract number 644; Poster # P2-185. Marrie RA for the CIHR Team in the Epidemiology and Impact of Comorbidity on Multiple Sclerosis “Characteristics of poor adherence to the injectable disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis: a cross-Canada prospective study.”American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC, April 17, 2016. Abstract number 1632; Poster # P2-067. Family News

BABY COOK Charlotte Lindan Cook was born 10 days early on July 31st at 3:45am. She weighed 7lbs, 9 oz. Big sister Aaliyah, dad Ryan, and myself are all head over heels in love with her.

BABY DUFFY Kevin and Bronwyn Duffy’s baby boy, Nicolas, was born on November 4th.

BABY WHALEN Hélène Deacon and Marc Whalen are expecting a new addition to their family in mid-August! In Memory Of

The Psychology and Neuroscience community at Dalhousie offers condolences to John Fentress and John McNulty’s friends and family. Dr. John McNulty (1934 - 2015)

A Professor of Psychology (from 1963-1994) and Dr. John Fentress (1939 - 2015) Associate Professor of Medicine (from 1984-1994) at Dalhousie University, he was born in Moncton, NB, the son The department of Psychology and Neuroscience was of the late Frederick Aubrey McNulty and the late Doris saddened to hear of the death of Dr. John Belle (Brenton) McNulty. Fentress, former departmental chair and colleague. John was an influential thinker and researcher in the field of During his time at Dalhousie, he served as Secretary Senate animal behaviour and was perhaps best known locally for in 1971-1972 and again from 1980-1983, and as Chair of the founding the Canadian Centre for Wolf Research (1974- Department of Psychology from 1972-1974. He also served 2007), a large research facility that quickly developed an on many committees and boards of the university. international reputation for quality and ethical research Throughout his university career he remained active in on wolves and coyotes. His research focused on charac- teaching and all aspects of instructional development, and terizing and modelling wolf social behaviour and motor he took pride in the accomplishments of his students. He action sequences in many animal species. was also active in his field, being the author of a number of scientific publications, and throughout his career he served As a zoologist and ethologist, John graduated from on boards and panels concerned with professional, Cambridge University in 1965, where he was mentored by scientific, and academic issues. He had been a member of Robert Hinde. He came to Dalhousie from the University the National Research Council Canadian National of Oregon in 1974 to chair the Department of Psychology Committee on Psychology, the Scientific Advisory Council and did so for two terms. Although the department was for the XXVI International Congress of Psychology, the Task already an internationally recognized centre for research Force on University Diving and Hyperbaric facilities and in experimental psychology and what was then called Programs for Memorial University of Newfoundland, the physiological psychology, John oversaw further growth Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology, and he was that set the stage for several departmental changes. John President of the Association of Psychologists of Nova Scotia retired from Dalhousie and returned to Oregon circa in 1971-1972. 2003. Until recently he maintained a connection with Dalhousie through an appointment as adjunct professor. He was an Honorary Life Fellow of the Canadian In a 2013 e-mail exchange about his 1973 job talk for his Psychological Association and at various times he had been position at Dalhousie, he “...spoke of seeking mortar a member of various organizations, including the American between the bricks of psychology and neuroscience”. Psychological Association, the New York Academy of Although, he tried – as he put it – he “...never did quite Science, The Underwater Association for Scientific Research succeed in providing that mortar.” However, it was just a Limited (UK), the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society matter of time before his forward-thinking vision for the Inc., and the Dalhousie Society for the History of Medicine. department took hold. A few years ago when the name of Following retirement from Dalhousie University in 1995, he the Dalhousie Department was changed from “Psychol- maintained a pro bono appointment as an Affiliate Scientist ogy” to “Psychology and Neuroscience”, a major step in the Department of Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth II toward his goal was made. When John heard about this Health Sciences Centre until 1999, where he continued to he said: “I am delighted to see that times have changed.” do research on aspects of hyperbaric medicine. Nicholas Mackintosh (London, 1935- Bury St. Edmunds, 2015)

Nicholas John Seymour Munro Mackintosh was born in London in 1935. He was one of the thousands of British children who were sent to Can- ada, out of range of the German bombers, during the Second World War. After returning to England he was educated at Winchester (Latin and Greek; 1948-1953) and then at Magdalen College, Oxford. His degree was in Philosophy and Psychology, and so he had to choose which field to pursue for graduate studies. In a 2012 interview that is available on the Internet Nick remarked-I’m paraphrasing- that he reckoned that only one philosopher per generation makes a really substantial contribution, and that he was unlikely to be that one, whereas he thought he could do something useful in psychology.

Nick stayed at Oxford for graduate studies, working in the laboratory of Stuart Sutherland in the area of animal discrimination learning. Suther- land also had a laboratory on the Mediterranean in Naples, where he studied discrimination learning in the octopus. Nick acknowledged that the opportunity to spend summers in Naples was irresistible. He earned the D. Phil. in 1963, and stayed on as a Lecturer at Oxford until 1967. The research with Sutherland was reported in many journal articles and a substantial book, “Mechanisms of animal discrimination learning” (1971). Sutherland and Mackintosh each wrote half the chapters.

In 1965-66 he was a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania. I was in the last year of my studies for the Ph.D., and I was fortunate to be his teaching assistant in the undergraduate class on animal learning. Even then the breadth and depth of his knowledge of learning and his extraordinary, analytical mind were apparent to anyone who knew him. He-a much older man, thirty to my twenty-four- was very kind to me. I can remember a convivial dinner at the house that Nick and Janet rented.

In 1967 Dalhousie offered Nick an Isaac Walton Killam Professorship. At a dinner a few years ago Nick told the story of Henry James, then Chair of Psychology, phoning to offer him the position. When Henry got around to the matter of a salary, the amount was so much greater than Nick imagined he would earn that he blurted out something like “can I have until tomorrow to decide”? I had thought that Nick was born sophisti- cated, but I guess that wasn’t so. I’ll say more about Nick Mackintosh’s time at Dalhousie in a few minutes.

In 1973 Nick left Dalhousie for a professorship at the in Brighton, England. In 1981 he moved on to Cambridge, where he was Professor and Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology, and a Fellow of Kings College. He was also Chair of the School of Biological Sciences. Nick was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1987. He was the leading scholar and researcher in animal learning in the UK from the early seventies to the late nineties, so his influence on the next generation was very great.

Nick Mackintosh retired in 2002: mandatory retirement at age 67 was in effect at Cambridge then. He continued to write and to teach under- graduates into 2014, primarily in the area of . Nick’s 1998 book “IQ and human intelligence” heralded the turning of the tide in attitudes in the UK in favor of the need to remedy underachievement in inner-city, multi-ethnic schools.

Now let me say a little more about Nick’s time at Dalhousie. I only overlapped with Nick at Dalhousie for a couple of weeks, so some of this information comes from Richard Brown and other sources. Nick joined a very active group of researchers in animal learning, including Vern Honig, Bruce Moore, Phil Dunham, Bob Rudolph and Charles Brimer. Nick’s NRC (now NSERC)-funded research programs were titled “ Selec- tive attention in discrimination learning and conditioning”, “Stimulus-after-effects and instrumental learning” and “Reversal and probability Learning”. Nick had a large lab for that time; he supervised a number of Ph.D. students (I can think of David Likely, Vicky Gray, and Robert St Clair-Smith) and had a full-time research assistant. His last student, Andy Baker, was partway through his dissertation research when Nick left for Sussex and I arrived, and I took over as Andy’s dissertation supervisor. Nick’s lab was very productive-publishing roughly twenty-five journal articles based on learning research done at Dalhousie. In addition Nick and Vern Honig organized a symposium “Fundamental issues in asso- ciative learning” at Dalhousie in June 1968, which resulted in contributions to a book with the same title by seven of the best researchers and thinkers in the field (Nick wrote the epilogue). This little book was important in shaping the direction that the field would take in the subse- quent decade.

The most important contribution from Nick’s time at Dalhousie was his book “The Psychology of Animal Learning”. This was a large-700 pages plus, and 2000 references- and comprehensive book, about which Nick said “…Where there was a choice between ignoring or sliding over some problem, or digging deeper in order to reach a more securely based conclusion, I have usually opted for the latter course. This undoubt- edly means that the book makes substantial demands on the reader. I can only hope that the effort will seem worthwhile” (p.vi). This was an enormously useful book; nothing remotely like it had been written since Kimble’s revision of Hilgard and Marquis’ “Conditioning and Learning “ in 1961, and the field had exploded in the intervening years. Though it was a big book, there wasn’t an ounce of fat on it. When there were data on both sides of an issue Mackintosh-as he said- almost always analyzed the experiments carefully and came to a conclusion. So it was a great reference book. The same approach characterized his 1983 book “Conditioning and associative learning”, about which one reviewer said “ Within the areas covered, Mackintosh is so encyclopaedically knowledgeable, and au fait with the merits and failings of all conceivable theoretical positions, as to be quite above criticism.”

Nick was a supportive person who worked hard to foster the research of his students and younger colleagues. Noteworthy among such efforts was his collaboration, thirty years ago, with Victoria Diez Chamizo and other young researchers at the University of Barcelona, which helped get animal learning started in Spain. The field is thriving there now, and the University of Barcelona recently awarded Nick a gold medal in recogni- tion of his contributions.

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