Aaron Newman

Canada Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology

How is it that deaf people learn language without ever hearing a sound? Why are young children so much better than adults at learning a second language? How can we best design a therapeutic regimen to help people speak again after a stroke has robbed them of this ability? These are the kinds of questions Dr. Aaron Newman tries to answer.

Dr. Newman specializes in the integration of multiple brain imaging techniques, hoping to shed new light on how language is implemented in the brain, and how the organization of language is affected and altered by experiences over a lifetime. The techniques he uses provide pictures of how the brain is “wired” – where and when activation occurs and how different specialized areas in the brain communicate with each other.

Dr. Newman has already produced research that shows that many of the same brain regions are activated by signed and spoken language. And that other parts of the brain are uniquely involved in sign language processing, and some parts only when sign language is learned in childhood.

In his present research, Dr. Newman studies children who are learning languages at different ages. He is able to determine which brain areas are recruited for learning, and identify markers that could predict which children may have learning difficulties. This may also help us understand why children generally learn a second language better than adults.

Unique in Canada and perhaps the world, Dr. Newman’s research also includes a focus on Aboriginal language learning. The research findings may be used to help Aboriginal communities decide how best to educate their children and preserve their heritage.

In association with the Brain Repair Centre in Halifax, Newman works with neurosurgeons to develop techniques for guiding their surgery to improve outcomes, and with clinicians to assess treatment progress in brain-injured persons and to develop improved diagnostic techniques for language disorders.

(Source: Canada Research Chairs)

Neural bases of language

Aaron Jon Newman, BA (Winnipeg), MSc (Oregon), PhD (Oregon)

Highlights
Using brain imaging to study how brain organization is affected by deafness, second language learning, injury, and disease.

Background

• 1996, BA (Honours) University of Winnipeg
• 1998: MSc in Psychology, (University of Oregon) 
• 2002: Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oregon 

Published
Numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and government reports

Honours

• 2005-2010: Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Cognitive Neuroscience, Dalhousie University
• 2002-2005: Postdoctoral Fellowship B, Institutes of Neurosciences and Mental Health & Addiction, Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
  

Website:
Neurocognitive Imaging Lab

E-mail: Dr. Aaron Newman