Jonathan Marotta

• PSYC 2360 - Brain & Behaviour

After earning his PhD in Neuroscience working with Dr. M.A. Goodale at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Marotta was awarded funding by the McDonnell-Pew Program in Cognitive Neuroscience and NSERC to continue his training as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Dr. M. Behrmann’s laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC). Dr. Marotta returned to Canada to take up a CIHR INMHA Senior Research Fellowship position in Dr. J.D. Crawford’s laboratory at the Centre for Vision Research (CVR) at York University.

Dr. Marotta is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba and Lab Director of the Perception and Action Lab. His lab provides an excellent context for the integration of multiple cognitive neuroscience approaches – visuomotor control, perception, neuropsychology and neuroimaging. His trainees develop in-demand expertise with 3D-visuomotor paradigms utilizing sophisticated motion tracking systems, and perceptual and neuroimaging design and analysis.
 

• PhD (Neuroscience), The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, 1998
• MSc (Neuroscience), The University of Western Ontario, 1994
• BSc (Psychology), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, 1992

Research summary

If we are to successfully interact with the world around us, our visual system must do two important things: recognize objects and assist in the programming and control of actions directed at those objects. Dr. Marotta’s research goals are focused on offering a better understanding of the functional architecture of visual perception and the visual control of action. By utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach that includes advanced 3D visuomotor paradigms, neuropsychological patient investigations, fMRI, and traditional cognitive and psychophysical methodologies, Dr Marotta’s research has helped address one of the fundamental questions in Cognitive Neuroscience – how sensory information is transformed into perceptions of the world and useful motor acts.