MEMBER
Emily BJ Coffey, Ph.D.
Dr. Coffey is an Assistant Professor at Concordia University (2018-present). She completed a BSc (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Ottawa, an M.Sc. in Brain and Cognitive Science at the University of Amsterdam, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at McGill university, and a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tübingen, Germany. Her current work is supported by NSERC, BRAMS, FRQS, CRBLM, RBIQ, and PERFORM.
Coffey Lab: Audition, Sleep and Plasticity (CL: ASP) focuses on neuroplasticity associated with complex tasks, using musical meaning and its interaction with language as a model. With BRAMS colleagues at McGill University, we have created an open-access task “music in noise” that can be used to study how individuals use the many cues that constitute the hearing in noise (HIN) skill and how these skills differ according to musical training. The laboratory uses various neuroimaging tools (MEG, EEG, fMRI, DWI, VBM) to study the neural basis of auditory processing, hearing in noise and the benefit of musicians, and their relationship to training. Lab members are also combining these areas with new techniques that may affect the consolidation of sleep-dependent memory, such as closed-loop auditory stimulation. Ultimately, our goals are to understand how training and sleep interventions can maintain hearing and language function and improve learning and quality of life.