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Dr. John A. E. Anderson

John Anderson

Canada Research Chair in Cognition and Wellness

John Anderson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cognitive Science.

His research examines how contextual factors (e.g. time of day, caffeination, sleep
deprivation, food) and lifelong experiential factors (e.g. exercise, bilingualism,
education) collectively delay age-related cognitive decline.

In studying the effects of these factors and their resulting long-term effects on
the brains of older adults, Anderson hopes to define and promote a series of best
practices or circumstances for adults to consider following as guidelines, in order
to improve our mental acuity and help maintain a higher level of cognitive
functioning as we enter our twilight years.

Anderson is spearheading this research as the director of the new Cognition and
Neuroscience of Aging Lab
(CANAL Lab) at Carleton University.

The lab brings together Anderson and student researchers interested in using behaviour
and neuroimaging techniques to study aging, attention and memory — and how things
like circadian rhythms or learning a second language can affect them.

Three research projects being undertaken at the CANAL Lab currently include
important and pressing inquiries into how depression affects grey and white matter
microstructure in the brain, how older adults may have better cognitive function
in the morning, and how bilinguals may weather aging better than people who only
speak one language.

Across a spectrum of projects, Anderson is contributing to shaping a future that
better understands and is better equipped to respond to issues of human cognition.